Our Tomorrows Start Tonight
by octogone
Summary: ShikaTema PeinKonan and other pairings. In a shinobi's life,love must never show. And some things must never happen between ninjas of different villages. Most of all when a conspiracy endangers the peace. Futurefic. Rated M for language lemons violence
1. 5 years

**Our Tomorrows Start Tonight**

**A/N :** This is actually my first fanfic ever. It's a one shot at the moment but if I find enough time I may write a sequel to this. Constructive criticism is very welcome since I'm completely new at this. As a side note, English is **NOT** my mother language, so I apologize if some sentences sound awkward to you.

_**SPOILER ALERT**_

_**Some major spoilers are unveiled**__**, if you don't read the manga on a regular basis. You've been warned.**_

Rated M for lime and language as well as graphic violence and lemons in later chapters.

**Disclaimer :** If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't be writing fanfics. So save yourself some time and don't sue when it's not needed. I don't make money out of this. But i do own this plot.

* * *

A cold sweat ran down the back of Shikamaru as he woke up. Insomnia. Nightmare. Next to him a shapely form was lying peacefully. Temari didn't wake up.

'_Good Thing'_ , he thought, _'At least I won't have to explain this time'._

Not that he disliked talking to her. But he needed some time alone right now. And a cigarette. The 20 year old stood up and stretched. He searched in their clothes for his black shirt and his pants that were all messed up due to what happened before they went to sleep in each other's arms. As usual when they had to spend many days apart, it's been wild, hot and passionate. A spicy blend of tenderness, desire and love. He opened the window and jumped on the roof.

Outside the warm wind was caressing his tanned skin. High in the sky, the full moon was serene and shed her calming beams on Konohagakure, giving the clouds and the streets down below a strange violet shade. Shikamaru sat on the roof and lit up a cigarette. A constant reminder of the man he took as his role model after his father. As the nightly breeze dried the sweat away he stared down in the bedroom and watched the blonde kunoichi sleep for a while… Temari…. The Kazekage's sister. His partner in work as well as in life.

Thinking of it, where did it all began? They are not exactly compatible at first glance. She's tough, confident, at times domineering and rude. He's a lazy-ass, soft-spoken, easy-going lad with a superior IQ.

When he first saw her at the Chuunin exams, winning over a much weaker TenTen and almost breaking her spine with her fan, he thought her as a loud bitch with some serious attitude problems. A bit like his mother but even worse. When he got pitted against her during the main matches, he also found out that she not only had fighting spirit. She also had a brain that worked. At least enough to have him think of a real strategy to capture her in his Shadow Possession jutsu. Which he did although he forfeited the match. Upon defeating her, he could actually see her close-up for the first time. He then noticed that her tight dress underlined an hourglass-shaped body and that her asymmetrical fishnet stockings adorned an alluring set of legs.

But no. In fact, he now recalls that he fell for her upon the failed mission of retrieving Naruto's best friend who eventually left Konoha for Otogakure, in his search for power and revenge. Temari saved his ass from the Sound kunoichi that would have killed him hadn't a strong gust of wind blown her away when she was about to finish off Shikamaru . He had to admit that it was the first time that a girl would fight for him. Temari quickly dealt with the opponent, chopping down a whole hectare of forest with her summoning jutsu and crushing the foul-mouthed wench under a pile of trees. That's when he realized that she really _was _worse than his mother. But when she triumphantly turned to him, she showed him the nicest smile he had ever seen.

Quite surprisingly, she accompanied him at the hospital when he waited for Chouji. He was deeply worried. His best friend and Neji were on the brink of death, Naruto and Kiba were seriously injured while he escaped with only a broken finger. Moreover, his first mission as a leader was an utter failure. It was too much things for a 12 years-old to handle, even though he was much more mature than anyone his age. Every aspect of this mission made him question his ability as a ninja. The blonde girl – young woman if he was true to himself – sitting across him in a seductive manner tried to comfort him in her way. Rational words served in a no-bullshit tone. But it wasn't enough to make him reconsider about quitting it all. His father stepped in and went even harder on him, calling him a spineless coward. Shikamaru couldn't take it and was reduced to tears in front of everyone present. Had he turned around he would have noticed a sincerely concerned Temari staring at him. But sweetness wasn't something she was good at expressing, even if she wanted to.

In the aftermath, no one ever knew that, before leaving Konohagakure, Temari spent almost all of her time with him. Not out of sympathy. Just because she wanted to. For the first time, the Wind Rider showed her tender side to somebody else than her siblings. Upon leaving the village with Gaara and Kankuro, she teased him. He would never admit it, but he _did_ like that and smirked at her playful words. But his eyes were expressing something much deeper.

A few months later, he could return her the favour of saving his life. This time the mission he was leading succeeded. Although they couldn't help but bicker as usual, for the first time they worked as a team and combined their talents to defeat the wind user who tried to decapitate Temari earlier on. Ino was accompanying them but she couldn't help at all. Temari didn't even talk to her. Not out of misplaced rudeness, simply because she knew instinctively that Ino's abilities would be useless against this type of enemy.

During the two years that followed Naruto's departure, Shikamaru had to admit that they were growing closer every time they met. She was all what he needed. A level-headed, strong, unemotional girl, taking shit from no one but yet truly caring behind closed doors and who could challenge him on an intellectual level . He was all what she always wanted. A kind-hearted, laid back and superiorly intelligent boy able to soothe her violent temper and make her show something she had never showed to anyone: her heart.

Oddly, the 3 words "I love you" were never actually uttered between them. Not because of some stupid OMG-don't-say-those-words-I-don't-want-to-commit crap, just because they never needed to say something that both knew within their hearts. Yes, they loved each other though no one could know this. Active ninjas can't show any outward sign of romantic involvement. Discretion was the key of any relationship between shinobis, most of all when they are from different countries. Something Asuma-sensei had taught Shikamaru indirectly, through his relationship with Kurenai-sensei. But even then, someone as dense as Naruto himself could tell that something was going on between Temari and him.

'_Some things can't be concealed no matter how hard you try'_ Shikamaru thought.

When Gaara asked his sister to be a liaison between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, Temari eagerly accepted, much to her brother's surprise. Together with Shikamaru, they organised the Chuunin exams during which Gaara's apprentice, Matsuri and Hanabi Hyuga became Chuunins after a long, heated fight that left the arena completely wrecked.

It's been 5 years now. 5 years after they dealt with most of the Akatsuki members. Both Konohagakure and Sunagakure had joined their efforts into taking down the hidden organisation. This long, bloody, exhausting war on missing nins had put them all in life-or-death situation and many shinobis died during those awful events.

5 years after the death of Sasuke Uchiha. Although he did get his revenge upon his brother, Sasuke died in the arms of Naruto from the internal damage caused by his cursed seal. It had been slowly destroying him from inside ever since Orochimaru had given it to him . Dead were also his team mates as a result of the ensuing battle. Naruto utterly impaled Juugo with a powerful Rasengan, Suigetsu met his death when Sai threw him in a pool of melted metal and Karin was battered to death by an infuriated Sakura.

5 years old was also the age of his protégé, Kyosuke, the silent son of Asuma and Kurenai. The boy was physically a doppelganger of his father, except he had the deep crimson eyes of his mother. Since he had no child himself, Shikamaru was now somewhat the child's father figure. A role that fitted him more than he would have imagined. Kurenai insisted that, when Kyosuke is old enough, Shikamaru becomes his sensei. The Shadow Wielder accepted. His deceased sensei's son was a constant reminder of his promise to Asuma: protecting the next generation of Konoha. A promise he also made to Kurenai before she gave birth to her son.

And here he was now. The General of Konoha, Nara Shikamaru, the pride of Nara Shikaku and Nara Yoshino, his laid-back father and his strict mother respectively. Shikamaru had ascended to this position only a year ago, upon the instatement of Uzumaki Naruto as the Sixth Hokage.

Now that both the Leaf and Sand villages were on just as friendly terms as their Kages were, they formed an alliance that protected them from most other villages. But still they knew that somewhere lurked the sole Akatsuki member to still be alive, Konan Uzumaki, the Leader's partner and lover. After slaying the Akatsuki's leader, Naruto couldn't bring himself to kill his aunt and let the blue haired woman escape.

Also worrisome, the recent surfacing of Kabuto Yakushi, Orochimaru's former henchman who had taken into him the last physical remains of his master and who took control of Otogakure. He couldn't exact revenge on Sasuke for destroying his mentor, still the young man wanted to prove his own worth in his own way, at any price. Which meant that the traitorous organisation could reform anytime and ally itself to the Sound Village like it sort of did by the past . Shikamaru inhaled the smoke and closed his eyes, letting his mind wander into reverie. Now that the new generation of Genin was about to blossom, what would happen?

"What's wrong?" uttered a voice interrupting his thoughts. Temari was standing above him. She had woken up after all. She looked so beautiful with her hair down and wearing nothing but a long, white, flowing bed sheet she had wrapped around her chest.

"Go back to bed. I'm fine" Shikamaru said slightly annoyed

"Please, I think we are way too late at night to play these games. Did you have this nightmare again?"

"I can't hide anything from you can i?"

"Look, you don't need to worry about this. I know you feel that you're not fit enough to live up to that promise you made to your sensei and his lover but we already went through this. Stop questioning you abilities all the time like that! It's childish!"

"Oh shut up! Like you are one to talk!"

"EXCUSE ME?"

"Miss Respect-My-Attitude is telling ME I'm childish? Attitude problems are not a sign of maturity as far as I know!"

Temari gave him one of her death glares. But instead of going off the deep end, she sat down next to him. She knew what he needed.

"Come here" she murmured

"I don't need…"

"I thought I told you to stop being childish!" Temari snapped

"And I thought I told you to go back to bed! How troublesome can you get?"

Temari didn't answer and this time she simply laid beside him, watching the stars at well. And then, after a long pause :

"I'm sorry…" a disgruntled Shikamaru said

"It's okay" Temari answered "I know you weren't prepared when Naruto appointed you with that new status. But your country needs men like you. As troublesome as you may find it"

"That's not it. I mean, becoming general is fine with me. It's just it made me aware of things I never suspected before. You know that ANBU mentor they call Danzo?"

"Yes, that geezer always babbling about war and hate with his face as wrinkled as your sack's skin?" Shikamaru almost lost his trail at her allusion.

"My balls are…"

"Perfect the way they are!" Temari answered with a grin

Shikamaru repressed a blush and went on.

"Well, I wanted to tell you about this before but that man is dangerous. I mean really dangerous."

"What do you mean?"

"Since Naruto has been instated Hokage, he talked to me several times about how Naruto is not cut out to be Hokage and that Konoha is now strong enough to conquer the other countries. And…"

"And?"

"He… " Shikamaru hesitated.

"He what? Get on with it now!"

"He wants Gaara out of the picture that's what. He plans on taking over your country to reinforce the Land of Fire. Naruto knows this but there is no way for us to act openly against an elder of the Hidden Leaf without creating chaos. He has all the ANBU forces under his influence, even if Sai is officially in command. "

Temari stared at him in abject shock, before gazing up once more. Insidiously, the sky was changing. The deep indigo of the sky was now taking a menacing dark crimson tinge. A veil of dull mist now seemed to cloud the perfect moon. The wind had become cool, almost cold…. She didn't like believing in omens but this sudden change of weather was really disturbing.

"Shikamaru, are you serious?" she aked. "Because if you are, then we are about to enter an even bloodier war than our countries have ever seen ."

"You think I don't know that? We are currently evaluating of power of action on this situation. Our intelligence network is trying to know more about his schemes but it seems even wider than we ever thought. Your daimyo is on their side."

"WHAT? Why haven't you talked to me about all this before?? You know you can trust me don't you?"

"I didn't want to talk about this before because I thought it was strictly an internal problem you didn't need to know about. But now that this conspiracy is touching your country, I think it's time to inform you. And now that you are aware, I want to know something. "

Shikamaru stared at her right in the eye. Such a thing was so rare that Temari slightly flinched at this unusual behaviour:

"What is it?"

"Temari, you are the link between Suna and Konoha. You are the one who can make things better or worse. You are the one who knows more about our country than anyone in the Land of Wind. I'll protect you with my life if anything threatens you but you must promise me that you'll never hide anything from me. I know you trust me and I trust you things are going to change very soon."

"And where are you going with this?"

"Temari do you promise to never betray me or my country no matter what? Cause If you do…"

"Yes?"

"I may be ordered to kill you." Shikamaru said bluntly.

A heavy silence fell around them. Temari, didn't answer immediately and simply leaned towards him:

"I can't betray someone that precious to me, Shikamaru, even for the sake of Suna, I'd rather die than betray you. "

Konoha's General was now the one staring at her speechless. How could he ever doubt her? He leaned towards her as well.

"You know, I…" he started

"Time to shut up now", Temari commanded

The blond kunoichi leaned even further and grazed softly his lips with her mouth. Shikamaru captured her lips with his and let his hand wander in her hair. Her dirty blond strands felt like silk on his hands. Temari snuggled against him and before she knew it, he was carrying her back into the room, onto the bed. No more words were needed, their body were communicating everything they needed to know about each other at that very moment.

Shikamaru was kissing her passionately and almost ripped off the bed sheet she was wearing. He wanted to feel her against him. Now. Without anything to keep his skin from feeling her warmth. Temari made him take off his garments as well. She always thought him handsome with his ripped torso and that smirk of his. Yet what she liked the most were these deep onyx eyes that drove her insane. Feeling his eyes piercing her to the core…

Shikamaru was feeling every inch of her soft, lightly tanned skin, taking time to detail her nearly statuesque body. Her firm breasts were squirming at his ministrations and soon his tongue replaced his hands. He wanted to relish her, to feel that she was here for real. All what mattered to him right now was that feeling, this woman, what she tasted like and what he was doing to her. Not because he felt obliged to, just because he wanted to. With all his heart. That's what made her so different from any other girl.

Temari moaned loudly. She was defenceless now but yet feeling safe because he was here with her, on her, inside her. He was there and nothing else mattered to her either in that precious moment. He was consuming her entirely, with his tongue, with his hands, with his heated kisses and with what was sliding back and forth inside of her, bringing her towards ecstasy with every stroke.

The cold wind outside couldn't do anything about it. Their room was ablaze. The now clear moon and the stars were watching over them and the reddish sky had nothing menacing about it any longer. Nothing should be allowed to disturb what was happening right now, in this room, on that bed, that night. Because tomorrow, when they wake up, in that same bed, a third person will be with them. Someone who may change it all someday…


	2. Don't Die

**A/N :** I changed a bit the tags of the fic since the turn it is taking makes it more adventure-like. The angst is still there though! I tried to improve my grammar and edited a few words to sound less awkward. Thanks to all reviewers, your help is highly appreciated!

* * *

It was 7:00 am in Konoha. The orange dawn had broken through the night, already warming up the roofs. As the birds began to chirp, the sun showed up, shedding its reddish light on the trees and the hills of the Land of Fire.

In the streets of the Hidden Leaf, a lone figure was walking towards the training grounds. Her black hair tied up in two Chinese-styled buns, TenTen was now a Jounin instructor. She had given an appointment early in the morning to her Genin squad who was certainly waiting for her already. She was approaching the Nara residence….

_Earlier this morning…_

Entangled in much messed up sheets, they had gone to sleep in each other's arms, exhausted by the climax that had exploded in them last night. A total communion had occurred.

Sweet beams shot through the shutters and gently woke them up. Temari had to leave early today but still they wanted to snuggle against each other for the little time they could afford to.

"I gotta go soon you know", the Sand kunoichi told the man who was hugging her so tight

"I know that", he replied. "Will you take a shower with me first?"

There was nothing kinky in his tone. It was just a question.

"Come on", she said as she sat up.

In the shower, they made love one last time because both knew that this wouldn't happen again before very long. Shikaku and Yoshino were away in the Land of the Waves and wouldn't be back until this afternoon. So there was no chance to wake them up in the process.

They didn't say anything while they were dressing up in Shikamaru's room. He hadn't changed his outfit much over the years. He was still wearing his black pants and shirt with the mandatory Konoha service jacket as well as his forehead protector around his left arm. The only new thing he wore was the sash of the Daimyo's 12 guard nins, proof of his high rank in the Hidden Leaf hierarchy. Temari was now wearing a long, burgundy kimono with a cream obi and tended to wear her hair open. Then they went down in the kitchen and had breakfast together.

"So what are you planning to do now?" Temari asked

"The Sixth wants to see me and the other Jounins he trusts the most this morning. We have to come up with a plan and Sai will be giving us his last intelligence report. We have already sent a messenger bird to Suna to keep Gaara aware. Danzo knows that you are returning to your country today. I'm not sure he won't make any move against you so my most trusted comrades will be accompanying you. "

Temari winced and put down her mug of tea.

"You think I can't protect myself unaided?" She asked with a dirty look

"I never said that", he answered, deadpan. "But there is no way I'm going to let you go back home on your own."

He was now the one scowling at her.

"And it's not like I'm asking your opinion here. I'm sure you can defend yourself but I'm also sure I don't want to be in a hospital or at the Shinobi memorial next time we meet. They are going with you. End of story."

Temari was dumbfounded. He hardly ever spoke to her like that. She couldn't answer straight back at the suddenly bold guy sitting across her. She wanted to but couldn't. So she changed the subject.

"Do you think that Danzo man has been in touch with Otogakure lately? They still want your country destroyed over there."

"I don't think so. The Sound Village hasn't made any significant move lately and Danzo doesn't want to destroy Konoha. He wants to rule it and from then on attack and conquer the other countries. Otogakure is not a viable ally right now."

"Good"

"It's 7:00 . Time to go"

Both made their way to the Nara mansion gate. Shikamaru suddenly yanked Temari's arm and forced her into a heated kiss. At first she tried to fight it but she finally gave in.

TenTen turned the corner and stopped dead in her track. She had just recognized Shikamaru Nara and Sabaku no Temari kissing each other at the main entrance of the Nara property. She was pretty sure it was Temari, even without her trademark hairdo. It couldn't be Ino, she had longer hair and was skinnier than the well-built woman she could see in the arms of the lazy Jounin. TenTen hid in a nearby tree and tried to hear their conversation. They hadn't notice her otherwise they would already have told her to leave and never reveal what she had seen.

""Whatever you do, don't die." Shikamaru said in a strangely cold tone and with an almost stern expression on his face

"You think I would die before you?" Temari asked him with one of her killer grins, "That would ruin all your plans don't you think?

"Temari, I am being serious. Don't die. I don't think I could take it."

"Same for me ", she said with an equally solemn tone.

They kissed one last time and walked away, talking about some spying work that had to be done quickly. TenTen was a bit confused. Then what she had heard about them was true. They always insulted each other in public, but any retard would question why they would _always_ be found together when not on missions if they actually hated each other that much. A classic trick but love between two individuals is impossible to hide for very long. Asuma and Kurenai were always picked on about that and everyone knew about their actual relationship. Even if they tried so hard to write it off, they weren't fooling anyone.

TenTen got down from the tree and continued towards the training grounds, a puzzled look on her face. She has never been very close to Shikamaru, and even less to Temari who tried to kill her back in the days if the first Chuunin exams. She realized she was probably the first one to ever see this nonetheless. Although she and Neji had the same type of relationship, TenTen couldn't wash away the idea that getting involved with a foreign ninja was a risky affair. She wondered if she had to talk to Shikamaru about this…

Temari and Shikamaru had arrived to the gates of Konoha, where two ninjas were already waiting for them. Temari recognized them quite swiftly, even if Chouji and Ino had changed a great deal over the years.

The blonde girl standing next to the entrance counter was wearing a very revealing purple velvet suit made of a slinky tank top that showed off her rather ample chest, which was covered in fishnet. Her short skirt hardly hid her thong and her slim legs were protected by leather, thigh-high boots. Her glossy hair was locked in a tight braid.

Chouji was now looking like a giant bear, even taller than Naruto himself. Though his pot belly was still present, his arms, upper torso and legs were now massively muscled and his long, spiky hair contributed to make him even more impressive. Under his black armoured suit, Chouji wore a sleeveless shirt of an aggressive red with matching metal clad mittens. He wore his forehead protector in classic fashion while Ino had it around her thin waist.

"Good morning you two", Chouji greeted

"Morning", both shinobis answered

"Hi Shika!" Ino said with a smirk, "hi my future sister-in-law!"

"Ino-san please!" an annoyed Temari said, "it's too early for these silly jokes!"

"Who said I was joking?" Ino retorted

"Ino we have important matters to discuss right now", Shikamaru disciplined. "Pay attention."

The tone of his voice made Ino forget about what she wanted to point out so hard and she listened carefully:

"Chouji, Ino, I want you to escort Temari to Sunagakure. As you may guess, chances are you'll meet trouble on your journey. Make sure that our liaison makes it up to her homeland safely and follow her directions when you enter the Land of Wind. Don't leave Suna until you receive my orders and send me a report of anything that happened during your trip."

"Alright!" both answered in a very formal way

Now that Shikamaru was legally a general, Ino and Chouji respected his authority and were comfortable with him giving them orders. It never dimmed their friendship whatsoever. This was just part of the job.

"Temari, please explain them the situation. Everything . And when you're home safe, please let me know. I'll keep you updated about the decisions taken here."

"I will. Take care."

"You too ", he answered, matter-of-fact.

And then to Chouji and Ino, who were giving him an interrogative look:

"As you know, it's a damn pain but I have a meeting to attend and the Sixth expects me to be on time. So I don't have enough time to tell you what it's all about. Just know that we're entering a new phase of troubles. Temari will explain the details to you."

"Okay, let's go then", Chouji said

"Oh and one last thing" Shikamaru interrupted.

"Yes?"

"Be careful the three of you!" he said with one of his rare true smiles

"Don't worry, Shika-kun" Ino answered playfully "your dirty little secret is safe with us!"

With that last crack, Ino earned a double glare from both shinobis, amusing her to no end. Shikamaru watched impassively as the three of them leapt to the trees in a cloud of dust. Temari watched over her shoulder and discreetly waved him goodbye. Shikamaru did the same, lit up a cigarette and headed back towards the Hokage's building

Konoha was slowly waking up. The sun was now brightly lighting up the streets and the villagers were opening up their stores. The streets of the Hidden Leaf Village always had that way about them : everything seemed to flow by peacefully, as if nothing could prevent the inhabitants from enjoying their time or threaten them in one way or another. The smoking genius passed by the Ichiraku Ramen Bar, where he could always find Naruto when he was younger. Even with his new status, Naruto visited them every time he could break free from his duties. A bit further, Konoha's general went across Kurenai Yuhi and Kyosuke who were making their way towards the academy. Kurenai had taken back on her duties and served actively at the academy as an instructor, along with Iruka Umino. Kyosuke was growing up like a weed and was soon to enter the academy. Shikamaru greeted them and said he would talk to them a bit later since he had only little time on his hands before the meeting started.

Fortunately, he wasn't late. Shikamaru entered the Hokage's building after giving the guards a proper bow. He went up and entered the Rokudaime's parlor, where some familiar faces were already waiting. A handsome, brown haired Jounin came to him, escorted by his white-furred pet. The man had a red tattoo under each of his slanted eyes. His spare, muscular and shaggy torso was only clad in a sleeveless, grey ninja vest and a leaf-shaped pendant hanging from his neck. His black pants and weapon pouch completed his outfit. A cocky smirk across his face, Inuzuka Kiba shook hands with his comrade :

"Yo Shika, what's up? Long time no see!"

"I 'm fine!" Shikamaru answered with equal warmth "And you what's good?

"Damn fine too! I was getting bored lately but looks like we're in for some action at last! I've been waiting!"

A woman with silky long brown hair was standing next to the door, wearing the same typical tattoo as Kiba. Hana Inuzuka greeted him politely. She wore a skin-tight, dark blue, turtle-necked shinobi suit that underlined her well-toned was also accompanied by her nin-dog, a grey furred one.

Kiba and Shikamaru were soon joined by a slim, pink-haired girl with green eyes and a pretty face. Sakura Haruno's dark pink outfit consisted of knee high shinobi boots with a long, sleeveless, split left and right dress that covered her fishnet shirt.

Behind her, stood a long-haired, dour-looking young lad. Neji Hyuga's formal, white kimono was the customary clothing of his noble clan. At the sight of the man he looked up to in terms of strategy and intelligence, Neji gave Shikamaru a prim, yet sincere smile. Next to him stood a younger girl, a rookie Jounin, actually his cousin, Hanabi Hyuga. The discreet and demure teenager greeted him with a nod. Her dark violet, long kimono was also the normal outfit of the Hyuga women.

Another man was lurking in a corner of the room, seemingly not interested in Shikamaru's entrance. Still, after everyone greeted him, the taller ninja went to Shikamaru to say hello. His face was almost entirely concealed by his high collared jacket and the dark sunglasses he wore didn't help in recognizing him. Still Shikamaru knew that man was the second General of Konoha with whom he shared his duties. Though Naruto didn't get along with him, he still acknowledged that the skills of Aburame Shino were actually most impressive, despite his cold, blunt manners. Shikamaru liked him since the man was the only one who could actually challenge him on his own playfield, namely Shougi and Go.

"Good Morning Shikamaru" Shino said in his usual dispassionate tone. I'm glad to see you're fine.

"Good morning Shino. Same to you. Your wife does miracles! I've never seen you so neatly groomed."

Shino didn't answer and gave him what could be called the beginning of a half-smile. Yes, indeed, his wife really did miracles.

An oaken door at the bottom of the room opened up with a creak. A blond giant with deep blue eyes and spiky hair entered his parlor, followed by a beautiful and serene young woman with long, marine blue hair and pearly white eyes like those of Neji and Hanabi. Everyone silenced as the Sixth Hokage and his wife sat down on their respective chairs. In a deep, almost solemn tone, the Rokudaime said :

"My fellow Konohans, the meeting can start. Sai, will arrive in a few moments to deliver us the latest intelligence report, along with Rock Lee who just got back from a mission. "

All of a sudden, Naruto Uzumaki grinned at the assembly and said :

"And don't give that look y'all, it's not like we're burying anyone now, is it? "

' _Ah well '_Shikamaru thought _' Some things never change. He's still a troublesome idiot after all.'_


	3. Careful Discretion

**A/N : -**Dono is an honorific title, not exactly the same as -sama but still given to people of importance.

_Somewhere in the Land of Fire…_

A huge meteorite had crushed there eons ago. The crater that resulted from the impact spread almost 300 miles around, so much one could hardly notice what this valley actually was. The vegetation of the area was even denser than anywhere else in the Land of Fire, even though a few paths ran inside the crater. The high waterfall was the only part that could be clearly seen from afar. The stillness and the silence that reigned there were relaxing, yet strangely forbidding.

A strange trio was jumping from one branch to another, heading towards the waterfall so they could replenish their water supply. It took 3 days from Konoha to Suna, if the trip is uneventful of course, so they needed to have a full tank of water with them.

"Danzo is on the move again then. Nothing surprising if you ask me" Ino said

"Why?" Chouji asked

"Well it's been highly suspected that he and Akatsuki were involved in some dirty business back in the days. Sai told us about that remember?"

"She's right. Temari stated. Basically, Akatsuki wanted to take the power of all the Jinchuurikis. If they had succeeded, they would have been practically invincible right now. In short, the geezer is just trying to finish what he could never achieve way back then."

"And I guess you know why no one tried to put him out?" Ino inquired

" There were no reliable evidence that he **was** involved with the Akatsuki. He's an elder of Konoha. Acting openly against one of them without evidence is extremely hazardous business. Not to mention it can imply the death of the accuser. Treason you know."

Ino gave the older woman a frown.

"Wow, you don't waste your time when you come to our country do you? You know more about our internal problems than me. Shikamaru must trust you with his life to give away such information to a foreigner."

Temari remained stoic at the allusion.

"Shikamaru never talked to me about all this. All villages run by similar rules when it comes to the elders"

"You're well informed still. Do you also know why Danzo waited all this time to act?"

"This I can answer," Chouji said "Danzo needs someone to back him up otherwise he can't do shit. He needed to rebuild a base of loyal followers. This is why we are currently watching out for that blue haired girl Naruto has allowed to get away after we destroyed the Akatsuki. He made an army out of Konoha's ANBU, yet they are not all devoted to him. They just believe he might be right about the Rokudaime's abilities as a leader."

"And it took him all this time?" Ino asked again

"If he made a move too quickly, it would've indicated clearly that he had some business with Pein and the others. Not to mention that he probably also took advantage of this hiatus to talk the other elders into joining him. Don't forget they hate…"

"Hang in there you two" Temari cut.

She went down on the ground and kneeled.

"What's happening?" Chouji asked " Are you sick or something?"

"Look"

At Temari's feet, a bird charged with a light leather box was lying dead. The small pewter ring on its talons was marked with the Konoha seal…

_Meanwhile, in the Hokage's parlor…_

" As you may all know, I gathered you here to discuss and inform you about the conspiracy we brought to light a few days ago" Naruto started " The elders, including Danzo, are off for their ritual at the Shinobi Memorial so we won't have to worry about them. We couldn't get rid of Danzo after the Akatsuki's demise, due to a lack of proof, but then again I had the ANBU Intelligence Squad watch over him since then. The results are to come shortly when Sai joins us."

A knock at the door interrupted the Hokage's monologue.

"Come in." Hinata ordered in her ever sweet voice

A Jounin clad in all green entered the room. His shaven head made his bushy eyebrows even more conspicuous. His deadpan expression gave him an almost comical appearance but his powerfully toned body underlined by his skin tight suit made it clear that he was no one to be laughed at. Except of course if you wanted to be seriously hurt….

" I apologize for being late, my fellows" Rock Lee said "I just go back from my mission in Takigakure and I had some formalities to attend before I could come here."

"Don't worry Fuzzy Brows!" the Hokage replied with an impossibly large grin "You didn't miss anything yet except for my flamboyant introduction!"

'Oh, shit.' Shikamaru thought 'We're in for the idiocy again….'

A dark silhouette suddenly burst out of the window, making all the ninjas present take a defensive stance. They immediately relaxed once they recognized who it was. A slim, dark haired and masked shinobi stood up and gave the audience a respectful bow. A midriff-revealing, black and grey ANBU outfit and red mask was Sai's usual clothing. He removed his mask and smiled at the Hokage and Hinata.

"Good morning" Sai greeted simply

"Hello Sai, we were just waiting for you" Naruto said "You may start whenever you're ready"

"Thank you" the ANBU leader replied. Sai conjured a scroll containing the full report and gave it to Naruto

"We have been focusing on any dubious activity in Konoha since the instatement of the Rokudaime. There are heavy suspicions that ANBU mentor and former chief of Konoha's armies Danzo is currently plotting in order to depose our current Hokage and take over. Although we still have no idea if he plans to take power for himself or use someone else as his mouthpiece, the problem remains still. In addition, we are now sure that he keeps in touch with the S-rank criminal known as Konan Uzumaki. The exact reasons remain unclear so far."

A shadow of despair clouded the Hokage's face a few seconds at that last statement. His aunt was a touchy subject for him. It reminded him of his deceased best friend he had lost in similar circumstances.

"A reliable source, namely the Kazekage's brother Sabaku no Kankuro, has also kept us updated all this time and made us aware that the Daimyo of the Land of the Wind is also involved with Danzo at some point. The interception of a communication between them made it clear that their current target is Sabaku no Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage. Knowing the friendly ties that Sunagakure has with Konohagakure, Danzo wishes to take over the Land of Wind so he can build up a significant army. Konoha's forces alone are not enough to serve his goals. It is strongly suspected that he plans to replace the current Kazekage by the Daimyo who is completely acquired to his cause.

Our spies have recently revealed that the goal of this conspiracy is starting a war, hopefully gaining full control over all the other countries. Danzo plans to use Rokudaime's Kyuubi to scare the neighbouring nations into submission. Since Konan Uzumaki is the only person who knows how to extract the Jinchuurikis out of their containers, we assume her role might be to extract the Kyuubi out of our Hokage somehow. We still don't know her whereabouts since she continually succeeds in eluding us once we get track of her. However, she no longer uses Amegakure as her base of operations like she once did when the criminal known as Pein was in charge. Said country has been completely pacified after the demise of the last Akatsuki members. Her capture is a top priority at the moment. We need her alive. She wouldn't be of any use if we killed her."

Shikamaru repressed a yawn. Why do reports always have this boring feel about them?

" Since we can't act openly against Danzo due to his status and the lack of tangible evidence, this has to be kept secret."

Sai relaxed and turned towards the Hokage, meaning his report's end.

"Is that all you managed to gather Sai?" Naruto asked

Sai cringed.

"Uh… Yes…." He said in a cautious tone

"Well, that's quite about what you all need to know at the moment." Naruto stated "Thank you Sai that was pretty good."

Sai felt a huge wave of relief wash through him.

"Now then, our plans will focus on 2 things. Sabaku no Temari s currently on her way to Sunagakure. She will inform her brother about the current situation. We already sent a messenger bird to be sure the information is delivered in time. We will act in synch with Suna to capture and neutralize Konan. Remember one thing, I want her **alive. **Are we clear?"

"Yes", everyone answered.

"Good. I guess she will refuse to give away any information but Yamanaka Inoichi and Morino Ibiki will make her in one way or another. Aside of that, our second priority is to get rid of anyone involved in this scheme. Do what you want with them but keep the most talkative ones alive. Once we have enough proofs to attack Danzo, he will be tried for treason. If we manage to get all of this done, we just might kill the conspiracy _in utero._ Pay attention to any detail, we can't afford to fuck this up. Any failure would be catastrophic."

Naruto's voice had become suddenly cold at the last statement, making it more of a threat than a warning. All shinobis remained cool still.

"You will follow the instructions of Shikamaru and Shino to the letter and report to them whenever they ask you to."

Naruto let tout a sigh and scratched his head.

"Feh! I never thought being Hokage would be that troublesome. Don't you think Shika?" he asked with a grin.

"Naruto you…"Shikamaru answered with a glare. He hated it when someone was using hs words to ridicule him.

"Will you insult your own Hokage Shikamaru?" Naruto asked with an even larger grin

"Of course not. Too troublesome."

"Good. Now I leave you in the care of your generals. I got work to do" Naruto dismissed himself before leaving

Shikamaru and Shino gave orders to their comrades and everyone disbanded. Shikamaru was left alone in the Hokage's parlor and headed to the door. In the corridor, a voice called on him.

"Shikamaru-san? Can I talk to you for a while?" TenTen asked politely

"Why, TenTen, yes. What can I do for you?" Shikamaru said

"Let's head out. There are things that would better not be heard in here."

"Is it that serious?"

"Actually yes, please come on"

Both ninjas headed out of the building and leapt up to a nearby roof since Shikamaru wanted to watch the clouds.

"Here we are now. What do you want to talk about" he asked

"Well, I don't know how to begin…um….let's say I saw you this morning."

Shikamaru felt a cold sweat running down his back. He did his best to remain unabashed.

"A lot of people did, you know!" he tried to sound playful "I don't usually hide myself!"

"Shikamaru-san, you know what I mean don't you?"

"No. What is it?"

"I saw you and Temari kissing this morning right at the gate of your property."

'Damn it!' Shikamaru thought 'I've been careless!! How stupid of me to think that no one could see !'

"Okay. You saw me. So what? Aren't you and Neji involved as well?"

"It's not the same Shikamaru-san. I and Neji are from the same village. Though we act discreet like you do, what you're doing with Sabaku no Temari is quite dangerous. Even if we are allied to Suna, nothing states that this alliance will last. If Gaara dies, the alliance might as well be nullified just the same if Hokage-sama dies."

"I know that. We have known it all along. It's nothing new."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not judging you. I'm quite happy you found someone you love indeed. And I'm not that stupid to spread it around. But this is serious. It's not like you and her were simple villagers. If it was the case, no one would care. You could just bounce from one village to another or live six months in Suna, six months in Konoha. But you both are shinobis, Jounins to make it worse…"

"I know this as well." Shikamaru stated comprehensively "I appreciate your concern but don't worry about this, we will find a way. I know it's not simple and so does Temari."

"You don't understand Shikamaru-san. If someone else finds out about your relationship with Temari-san, you just might go missing both of you. If you do, ANBU will hunt you down and slay you. You are a general and so is she. Your positions don't allow you to fool around."

"And she's right" a light voice said behind them.

Hinata was there in her lavender kimono, her long cobalt strands waving around with the wind.

"Hinata-sama? You heard?" Shikamaru inquired, even more scared than before

"TenTen, I assume you know that you'd better not talk to anyone about this matter don't you?" Hinata asked the Jounin

"Sure Hinata-sama. I promise I won't spread it around."

"Then you may leave. You did a great job but now I would like to talk to our General in private if you don't mind."

"Alright." TenTen said " Shikamaru, please be careful"

"I will."

TenTen disappeared in a flash. Hinata approached Shikamaru. She had become a sheer beauty over the years. Her womanly figure was no longer that of a mousy, insecure teenage girl like she used to be. She was a young woman confident in her abilities, still an incredibly kind and gentle aura emanated from her. This made Shikamaru more comfortable about her knowing about his relationship with Temari.

"Shikamaru-dono" she said "I assume you know that you could be in deep trouble right now had someone else stood there."

"I do" he answered simply

"Last night I was doing some spying job along with my cousin and my sister. We were tracking one of Danzo's agents with our Byakkugan. I was scanning the roofs of Konoha from afar but still I saw you and Temari making out on your own roof. You really should be more careful you know? Do you think of what would've happened if someone had seen you?"

"I know that."

"You don't seem to…" Hinata stated with concern "Anyway, what you need to know is that all what TenTen told you is true. Two ninjas from different countries shouldn't be romantically involved. It could be supposed you gave away confidential information. And TenTen already told you what would happen. You both would go missing, regardless of your status, regardless if you actually did share info or not."

Shikamaru tried to keep his cool still but was listening carefully nevertheless.

"I won't prevent any of you from loving one another. I know just all too well how much love is important to someone's life to do such a thing. Still, one of you will have to quit being a ninja if you really decide to carry on your relationship. That one may choose to settle in the village of their choice, and pledge to never get back to their old lifestyle unless to the call of their Kages . Are you sure this is what you want?"

"I love her." Shikamaru answered simply "But I don't think she would ever consider quitting being a shinobi. Nor I . Not when I know how much I struggled to get there and how troublesome it would be to explain to my parents." A glimpse of his mother's anger in his mind made him shiver…

"Well then, act wisely and listen to your heart since it's a matter of love. But there is one last thing you must know Shikamaru-dono. Pay attention it's very important."

"I'm listening"

"Make sure she doesn't get pregnant with your child while both of you are still on duty. If it ever happens, the shinobi code clearly states that you and Temari-san will outright become missing-nins. And I don't think I need to repeat what will happen then."

"I will take this in consideration, Hinata-sama. I think I can count on your discretion about this matter can I?"

"You can. No one will know as long as you act carefully. Neither I nor TenTen will ever disclose this. I promise you. Take care of yourself, Shikamaru-dono and most importantly, take good care of her. Sabaku no Temari acts tough, but she's not different from any other woman. And I'm quite proud that you found your way to her heart." Hinata answered with a gentle smile.

"Thank you Hinata-sama" Shikamaru said before dismissing himself.

As he walked towards his office, Shikamaru stopped for a while to gaze at the perfect sky.

'I wonder what she's doing now' he thought.


	4. Beech and Bitch

"This was predictable" Temari declared in a neutral tone. "Those damn bastards have eyes everywhere"

She inspected the corpse of the hawk and found a small sharp dart, the kind that was usually used with a blowpipe. The dart was obviously dipped in a fast acting poison, a concentrate of deadly nightshade berries and aconite root. Instant death for such a little animal. The scroll it was carrying had been taken away. Of course. A completely white butterfly hovered above them.

"Well now all we gotta do is hurry" Temari stated "And hope we won't be slowed down by anything."

"Dare to dream" Chouji said with a hint of dejection in his voice "If they intercepted that message to Suna, they sure want to prevent any information from Konoha to come through. If all what you told us is true, they must know that we're on our way."

"They do. Shikamaru told me so yesterday evening"

"Yesterday evening? What were you doing at his place, Temari-san?" Ino inquired

"Nothing much. We like to play shogi together from time to time." Temari answered, deadpan

"Playing shogi alright? Well…"

"Ino-san" Temari snapped "I think there are much more important things to worry about at the moment. Once we're in Suna, we may talk about it again if we have the time."

The look on Temari's face clearly indicated that she wasn't in any mood to argue about futile things. Ino kept mum.

'Crap!' Temari thought 'They are already making their move. Gaara… Please wait, I'll be here soon. Shikamaru…' The thought of her lover's smile made her feel better immediately.

"Right" Chouji said "You two may discuss this on the road but we have no time to waste. Let's go!"

All three leapt away to the canopy and moved on.

"I wouldn't worry that much, Temari-san" Chouji added in a comforting tone "I think Gaara is already aware of all this. Kankuro and Shikamaru have been keeping in touch ever since the formal alliance between our villages has been signed. They must already know about your Daimyo"

"I guess you're right, Chouji-san . But they don't know when the Daimyo will make his move. Surprise might give that piece of shit the upper hand. Remember when Akatsuki first attacked our village? Deidara succeeded because he surprised us. And I wasn't there to help Gaara that time. I don't want this to happen again."

"Don't underestimate your brothers. They are strong enough to defend themselves. And Matsuri is also there to help them up, isn't she? She's not Gaara's apprentice for nothing. But in any case, time to go.We'll just fill up our water reserves and continue on our way until the night falls. When it's too dark, we'll take a meal and some rest"

Temari was a bit amazed at Chouji's sudden display of authority. She always thought him as the kind underdog type. He taking the lead like this was quite unexpected. Shikamaru's knack for leadership must have rubbed off on him with time.

The 3 shinobis made their way towards the huge waterfall and didn't notice the dark female figure observing them from the shadows, right where the butterfly was heading right now.

'Damn it!' she thought 'They surprised me before I could destroy the bird's corpse. The Sand wench was supposed to be alone, but her being accompanied is nothing unexpected. I wanted to deal with her on different terms but with those bodyguards, I need to think it over.'

And she went after them, keeping a cautious distance in order to remain unnoticed. They stopped by the waterfall.

"Do you think this will do?" Ino asked Chouji, showing 6 gourds filled to the brim with spring water

"It'll be enough" Chouji said "I'll take 4 in my backpack as a reserve and you 2 get one for yourself. Advise me when you're out of water."

"Well, now that this is settled, I got something to do" Temari said, searching in her backpack. She produced a summoning scroll.

"Kuchyose no Jutsu!"

A beech marten appeared in a puff of smoke. As soon as it recognized its mistress, the small weasel jumped in the arms of its mistress with a squeal of joy.

"Well Akina, it's been awhile ain't it? Unfortunately we don't have time to play. Please take this and bring it to Shikamaru."

"What are you doing?" Ino inquired

"This marten is gifted with ultra speed. She's the cousin of Kamatari. Shikamaru and your comrades must be kept aware of what happened here. Since a bird is too easy a target in such surroundings, Akina will bring that scroll to Konoha in no time. It will keep them updated."

Temari wrote some words on a miniature scroll and inserted it in Akina's collar. Akina darted off as soon as Temari put her back on the ground.

'Bitch is not half-stupid' the watching woman thought 'A weasel is very difficult to track in dense vegetation. Can't use a butterfly to go after it, I'd just be wasting time and anyway it will never be as fast. I suppose some reinforcements will come once the beech marten has delivered her message. So I will finish all the three of them once they settle. Hopefully, they'll be exhausted enough for me to get rid of them quickly. In any case, they mustn't reach the Land of Wind. That's the bitch's playing field. I'd just be at a disadvantage.'

Chouji, Temari and Ino moved on, heading towards Sunagakure, the woman with a long flowing black and red robe still on their tails, now concealing herself with her Invisibility Jutsu.

_In Konohagakure, late in the afternoon…_

In the Hokage's library, Shikamaru had taken the Shinobi Code texts so he could learn more about what Hinata told him a while ago about relationships with foreign ninjas. The enormous book was looking more like a medical dictionary than a simple military code.

Inside were all the rules that ninjas must abide by. And on that article about general relationships with foreign ninjas, it was written:

"_Konohan shinobis pledge to never get involved in a personal relationship with a foreign ninja. Due to the fleeting nature of any alliance with another village, ninjas from an allied village are no exception._

_There is nothing more precious to a shinobi than his loyalty. Deep feelings for a foreigner threaten said loyalty because one might put their loved ones before the interest of their own village. _

_Thus, any ninja willing to engage in such a relationship will relinquish his status and become an inactive shinobi or a regular villager. Refusal to obey or deliberately ignoring this rule will be treated as rebellion and will be sanctioned accordingly._

_An inactive nin may not take back on their duties unless duly called upon by official demand."_

A later excerpt made the lazy genius quiver:

"_Pregnancy is an irrefutable proof of personal involvement. Thus, kunoichis who are proved to be pregnant with a foreign ninja's child while both are on duty must back out immediately from the active ninja's ranks along with the father of their child. Refusal to abide will be considered as voluntary defection, causing both to be banished from their respective villages and treated as missing nins, in application of the Shinobi Collective Agreement Treaty."_

'Holy Crap!' Shikamaru thought 'Hinata was absolutely correct!'

The Shinobi Collective Agreement Treaty was a well known official text. This funding treaty about relationships between the different countries had been signed by all Hidden Villages centuries ago and was the only text that all countries had in common. Now that he had read this, Shikamaru was worried. In fact, they had given up on using protection quite a while ago. And though nothing had transpired from all their passionate trysts aside of some scratches, love bites and such, nothing guaranteed that pregnancy could never happen. And anyone knew that such a thing could go unnoticed for quite some time. Generally, when you noticed it, it was too late.

Still lost in his thoughts, Shikamaru walked out of the Hokage's building and then towards the Jounins headquarters, where he and Shino had an appointment.

'Wouldn't it be nice if I could just take a nap and wake up with all that misery sorted out?' Shikamaru thought despondently 'But things were never that easy before, and that won't change, I guess'.

The smoking genius threw his cigarette away before entering the headquarters and went upstairs in the main office were Shino was waiting for him. As he entered, Shikamaru took his usual frown and acted as if everything was okay:

"What's wrong?" Shino asked

"Nothing" Shikamaru plainly answered "I'm just a little tired"

Shino stared at him behind his dark glasses. A sunbeam from outside lit up his face, revealing a pair of sharp, incredibly dark eyes that scrutinized him, as if he could see inside him.

"What's troubling you, Shikamaru?" Shino asked again with a voice cold-as-ice that clearly indicated that no bullshit would be tolerated.

"Personal matters" Shikamaru stated "I appreciate your concern but this is none of your business"

"You're worried about Temari?"

'FUCKING SHIT!' Shikamaru screamed inside is head 'Just how many people know about us? Did TenTen let something slip or something?'

"I sent Ino and Chouji with her. I guess I shouldn't be worried one bit" . He tried to look unconcerned.

"You are worried still" Shino stated "But then again we have other matters to talk about right now."

"I couldn't agree more"

"Things are taking a faster pace." Shino explained " We know that Danzo ordered the Sand Daimyo to make his move. Still, I've got a feeling that the Daimyo will end up a sacrificed pawn. Danzo knows that it takes more than a traitor to kill Gaara, even if the Shukaku has been extracted from him; the Sand Armor you know. Thus he might have something else in mind."

"Huh-uh" Shikamaru mumbled "Go on."

"Danzo wants to…"

A squeal interrupted the sunglasses-wearing man who could hardly make out the dashing form that crept up from the opened window into Shikamaru's crossed arms.

"Akina?" Shikamaru said to the little animal "What are you doing here?"

"A beech marten…" the Aburame heir uttered "News from Temari'

Shikamaru looked at his comrade in confusion. Shino's ability to guess out anything at a glance was almost freaking him out. The weasel put itself on it hind legs and showed off its collar. Shikamaru opened up the collar, found a little piece of scroll and unfurled it. On it, were written these few words:

"_Communication with Suna interrupted. Send another messenger but no hawks. I saw a butterfly. Everything fine otherwise so far. T"_

"Someone killed the bird we sent to Suna" Shikamaru stated with a blank expression "And someone is now at their back". The butterfly was clearly an allusion to someone he distinctively knew. But he needed to be sure.

Without a word, Shino summoned a stag beetle that immediately took flight.

"We will know who it is pretty soon" he said "I can link to the mind of my stag beetle. It will inform us as soon as it sees it"

"Alright, I will send a crow to Suna, in the meantime. They are less obvious than hawks" Shikamaru answered

An hour later, Shino caught sight of the three Shinobis thanks to his bug. It was getting dark and Shino took a little more time to scan their surrounding and finally spot the ninja following the trio from afar. He was using the Invisibility Justu but the insect's ultraviolet vision could see through it. And it took just a few seconds for Shino to analyze and recognize the chakra of the tracker. He quitted his chakra molding stance, obviously displeased.

"It's _her"_ he said bluntly "_She_ is the one."

Shikamaru knew just who _she_ was. An assortment of emotions showed on his face from fear to determination. He looked Shino right into his eyes for a while.

"I'm leaving the rest to your care"

Shino nodded understandingly and Shikamaru ran off towards the gates of Konoha.

'You're not doing this, bitch. I won't let you take the life of Temari, nor that of Chouji or Ino. Naruto wants you alive but if you touch any of them, I just might forget his command and tear you to pieces' the Lazy Genius thought as he leapt up to the trees.

"Akina, guide me. Lead me to her" he asked the small weasel. Akina jumped off his shoulders and ran before him.

'Please Kami-sama, let me make it in time! Temari, hang in there!'

**A/N: **Thank you so much to all the reviewers! I do appreciate your comments. I'm not very proud of this chapter but i hope you liked it still. I will update soon!


	5. Konan Part 1 : Before Dawn

**A/N:** Sorry about this humongous hiatus! Here is the completely version of Chapter 5. The rest will follow up soon and i will update on a more regular basis to make up for this delay. Thanks to all people who reviewed and alerted my fic! I do appreciate your support! As for the fic itself... Why do i want Konan to be related to Naruto so bad somebody asked me? Well because i think she's a much more interesting character that way. And it would make sense, since she has been kept a secret all this time. Seeya soon!

* * *

The trees were casting their ghostly shadows on the ground. The full moon's bluish beams were all that lit up their way through the branches. Ino, Chouji and Temari were going further still, jumping from one branch to another. Far behind, a blue haired woman was following their track, waiting for them to settle to launch her attack. Her long, flowing, black and red robe was hiding her turtle-necked suit and her knee-high, skin tight boots. 

These three shinobis were no strangers to her. She remembered particularly that blonde girl with the long kimono, the Kazekage's sister to be more precise. She had never forgotten when her and that top-knotted bastard of a shadow wielder contained her and thus prevented her from helping her lover while he was fighting her nephew. She remembered as she watched helplessly when Naruto scorched a hole through Pein's body with his Rasengan, while the Leaf Chuunin had her immobilized with his jutsu. She remembered her nephew's hands drenched in her man's blood, the last words of her lover as he died in her arms. She remembered everything.

Konan Uzumaki was her name. Uzumaki Kushina's sister. Konan was a quite unique kunoichi. Instead of having one of the 5 usual chakra types (water, wind, fire, thunder and earth), she owned the very rare Wood chakra, known as Mokuton, the same one the Shodaime of Konoha could control. That very chakra type gave her a total control over any wood-based material, especially paper. During her teenage years, Konan specialised and enhanced her origami skills but could also control other jutsus of the Mokuton type, yet at a lesser level. Actually, Kushina and Konan were separated from each other at a very young age.Their mother was a quite powerful kunoichi who quitted her job as soon as she got pregnant and who followed her lover in his own country, Ame no Kiuni. Kushina, who was older than Konan, was left in the care of the Kage of Land of the Whirlpool and became her apprentice. At that time, Konan was still a baby and hardly could recall anything of this period. She first heard of her sister when she was 4. She remembered every word:

* * *

"Mommy, who is this?" she asked pointing out at a family picture showing her as a newborn child, her parents and a red-haired young girl, a bit older than she was back then

"This Konan is Kushina, your big sister." Nodoka said "She is training under the command of our Kage in the Land o the Whirlpool"

"Mommy, why didn't she come along with us?"

"Because she asked to be our Kage's apprentice. She will come back to us once she finishes her training."

"Do you think she will like me?"

"Of course, my little darling. She will just be a little surprised to see you all grown up."

* * *

Outside the door, clashing blades, cries of pain and the unending rain were filling up the air, making it almost impossible to breathe. On the window, unsightly stains of blood had just sprayed. Destruction and death were waiting outside.

"Daddy please stay here!" Konan begged

"I can't my dear. Duty calls and a shinobi must never back down from their duties. I will be back soon, hopefully." Sangho said

"Daddy, wait!" Konan pull out something from on of her pockets "If you're going there please take this with you." She handed him a paper butterfly

"What is this?" Nodoka asked

"It's a lucky charm, mommy! It will protect daddy on his way!"

"Thank you my dear. But shen did you learn origami?" Sangho asked

"I learnt it all by myself!" Konan said proudly

"That's my girl!"

"Be careful honey!" Nodoka said "And please come back to us…"

"That's a promise my lovely" Sangho took her in his arms "I won't be there for some time so please protect Konan while I'm away."

"It's a mother's duty."

Sangho left soon after this but actually never reached the battlefield. A lost shadow shuriken…

_Meanwhile, in Konan'__s house…_

"Mommy why are they banging on the door so hard ?"

Nodoka opened up a trapdoor under the living room's table and shoved Konan inside.

"Mommy what's happening?". Her voice was a mess of fright and stupor.

"Whatever happens, don't move from here Konan. Not until I come here to tell you it's safe to come out." Nodoka ordered

"Mommy no! Don't leave me here! I'm scared"

"Be quiet, Konan! Our lives depend on your being quiet! Whatever happens, don't speak until I come here and take you out!"

Looking at her desperate daughter, Nodoka came closer and hugged her.

"Don't worry dear. Everything will be alright. Mommy will soon be here with you again, but you must stay quiet. That is very important, do you understand?"

"Mommy…. I… understand" Konan managed to say between two sobs.

Nodoka shut the trap and put back the table on it just in time before the front door was torn down. And two shinobis dashed in. Nodoka had been training during all these years, yet her skills had lessened due to the lack of missions. Still she took a defensive stance.

"Where is your husband?" one of them asked rudely

"None of your business." Nodoka answered back

"You'd better answer woman unless you want us to search your house."

"He already went to the battle grounds. You won't find him here."

"Good. That's all I needed to know, it will quicken my business."

In a flash, Nodoka was struck down, never getting up again.

"Hanzo, was that necessary?" the shinobi that stayed at the door asked

"No affiliate to the Amekage should be left to live. That's the only way for me to seize this country from him. I heard those two have a daughter, I'm gonna search for her."

But fate had other plans. And before Hanzo could search for Konan, a huge explosion was heard. The Amekage's headquarters had just been destroyed.

"Hanzo! Let's get out of here, they are attacking the Kage's building!"

"Damn bastards! I told them to wait for my command!" Hanzo let out in rage "Alright let's leave it for now we have more important business right now!"

With that, both assassins left. Konan waited a while, not saying a word. Since she only heard the silence she timidly called her mother.

"Mommy? Can I come out now?"

No answer.

"Mommy? Are you there."

A deathly silence fell around her, despite the rumours of war outside.

"Mommy?"

Konan slowly opened up the trapdoor, carefully looking for anything suspicious. But she saw nothing at first. Slowly, she came out of the cellar. And she finally saw Nodoka. At least she saw her head. Her body was nearby but no longer attached to it.

"**MOMMY!!"**

* * *

She remained there for quite some time, silent. Until night came and someone eventually showed up at the entrance of her house. This is when she met _him _forthe first time.

"Anyone there?" a juvenile voice asked

Konan didn't answer right away but hearing another child's voice made her snap out of her prostration.

"Hello?" the voice called again

"Who's there?" She asked out

"I am Nagato and you?"

"I am Konan. What do you want?"

"Nothing. I am just looking for someone… There is no one here and I'm alone now."

"You don't have any parents?"

"They killed them."

Konan quickly came out of the shadows and took a look at the boy standing in front of her, just as drawn as she was. A curtain of dark hair was falling around his face, only showing one of his grey eyes. But his eyes…. They were so strange! She never saw ones like those before.

"Mine are dead too."

"Do you want to come with me?"

"Where are you going?" the blue haired girl asked, completely mesmerized by the boy's eyes

"I don't know… Maybe we could find other children like us…"

And they did find one. His name was Yahiko, an orange haired boy with spiky hair who was looking for vengeance, as they all were. All three managed to survive all this time until that day when Konohan forces arrived in Amegakure, in hope of helping to stop the civil war initiated by a bunch of rebel nins.

They were found at their hideout by 3 ninjas, those that went by the Legendary Sannins. She remembered the white-haired, friendly young man called Jiraiya as well as the ill-tempered blonde woman who, much later, became the Fifth Hokage. The second female Kage known in history, next to the Third Hokage of the Land of the Whirlpool who was training her sister back then. And also that man she would meet years later in a whole different context, Orochimaru, the White Snake as they would call him

Jiraiya taught them all some basic ninjutsu skills and then left them to handle themselves. It's only years later that she finally met her sister again, during that awful war that lasted 6 years. Death, destruction, sorrow and hurt where the daily lot of everyone during that time, even if the commoners were relatively spared. Amegakure was no exception and she, along with Nagato, had fought with all their might in order to survive. Yahiko wasn't that lucky and ended up part of the countless casualties. She and Nagato had gathered a little group of shinobis that was somehow maintaining a modicum of security in the war torn Rain village. It was upon a scouting mission that she crossed paths with Kushina for the first time in 20 years.

"Nagato, I found them"

"How much are they?"

"I can see 6 of them right now but…". She stopped dead in her track

"Something wrong Konan?" Nagato asked

"No… It's just… I think I just saw someone I know…"

"Snap out of it Konan!" he commanded "Keep track of them and establish contact if they don't act hostile. Try to find out their intentions and act accordingly. You know your role."

"All right."

Konan had spotted a young, red-haired woman who felt oddly familiar. And what's more, her itai-hite was similar to that of her mother that she had kept with her. Konan always knew that Amegakure was not her motherland. Thus, she constantly refused to wear the Rain forehead protector since it meant next to nothing to her. When the group disbanded she followed the young kunoichi who was accompanied by a tall, blond man with a Konoha forehead protector. Looking closer thank to her origami butterfly, she recognized the man known as Konoha's Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze. Taking on such a powerful ninja alone would be suicidal, thus she tried to approach in a non-aggressive manner, coming to them face to face:

" Please don't attack me. I'm not here to fight."

"Who are you woman?" the blond man asked

"My name is Konan. I am from the Ame No Kiuni security squad."

Kushina stared at the blue-haired woman in disbelief for a while. She hardly recalled her younger sister yet she did know she left with her mother for Amegakure. Since her mother died in the civil war years ago she also assumed her sister was dead too. Could the comely woman standing in front of them be… Minato, for his part, was quite surprised that a foreign kunoichi would stand alone right in front of him. This kind of thing was rare enough for him to feel cautious.

"There is nothing to fear from us, lady" the tall man said in an eerily calm voice "We're just passing through Amegakure since we're on neutral terms at the moment. Stand aside and nothing will happen."

"Minato please." Kushina said, putting her arm before him "I think I know who she is. And she won't attack us, at least not me. Would you…. sister?"

Konan was awestruck. No words could come from her mouth, neither from Kushina's. Both sisters went to each other and hugged, teary eyed. Not wanting to interrupt this moment, the future Fourth Hokage simply stood by and waited.

"Konan! That is really you? It's so…so **grand** to see you again!"

"I'm really happy too Kushina! I'd never thought I would ever know you."

"You never told me you had a sister Kushina" Minato said, an ounce of reproach in his voice

"Actually I thought she was dead so I didn't think it was necessary information for you. Konan, meet…"

"Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash of Konoha to be fled from on sight " Konan cut

"Well I see that my reputation has preceded me, as always" he answered, with a cocky, incredibly large grin. Konan didn't answer but found this smug statement a bit inappropriate.

"We can't stay here too long anyway" Kushina said, having noticed the cold stare her sister just sent her man "We are here on a mission and we have litte time on our hands."

"I understand." Konan said "What are you here for by the way?"

"Actually we were sent to get information on Hanzo."

"Then you're on our side." A deep voice answered from nowhere.

A dark figure was walking towards them. Nagato was here.

"Nagato you heard?" Konan asked

"I heard pretty much everything I need to know. Welcome to you, Konohans. I am Nagato, Ame no Kiuni security squad's chief." Nagato said

The Uzumaki sisters enjoyed thoroughly the little quality time they could afford. Wartime was not actually the most appropriate period for sentimental moments. But still, Konan learnt that the Land of the Whirlpool was no more, just like many other small countries which had been subsumed by greater nations. Actually, the Land of Fire had taken their weakened motherland under its wing through a formal treaty. It didn't take long for Konan to know that her sister and the Yellow Flash were involved. Talking in a friendly way with such a powerful ninja who caused every enemy to run away at his mere sight was sort of a privilege, but still she couldn't help but finding him somewhat annoying. Konan appreciated modesty and, although his figure was definitely alluring, Minato Namikaze didn't seem to know the meaning of the word. His boastful ways were really not of Konan's taste, nor was it of Nagato's. Anyways, it was time to part.

"I'll see you off" Konan said

"Don't linger Konan. We haven't got much time either." Nagato said

"I'll be right back"

Outside of Nagato's hideout, Kushina and Konan hugged one last time.

"Why don't you come with us Konan?" Kushina asked "The Land of Fire is a much safer place than here. I don't want to loose you now we finally get to know each other. Do you think she could Minato?"

"I don't see any objection. Basically you're a stateless person so you don't have any loyalty bound right now and what's more you're originally from a country that is now part of our land. As a future Hokage, I can say you'd be welcome."

"I'm sorry but I can't". The blue hair woman sent them a saddened look "I would love to but I have a mission here…"

"Not to mention the one you love" Kushina said

Konan blushed beet red. "What... how… " she stuttered

"Well it's quite obvious that no one would ever put up with such a creepy guy, unless you're in love with him…"

"Nagato's not creepy!" Konan said defensively

"Well you have to admit his views on things are pretty unusual." Minato put in

"Anyway sister, I insist you come with us." Kushina said "If you stay here, i might not see you before long"

"Look, it's not like we're so far away. This war won't last forever and there are times where I could come and visit you. But I must stay here. For the sake of my honour. I made a promise to someone really precious to me and I don't want to betray him"

"So you do love him don't you?" Minato asked

"I guess…" Konan answered "Oh, and Kushina, take this" She handed her a paper rose, the same one she gave Jiraiya back then.

"What is it?"

"It's a gift. Just to remind you of me every once in a while."

"Thank you sister" the red-haired kunoichi said "Then come closer, I'll give you something too"

Konan approached and Kushina clipped one of her hair grips in her sister's soft and blue hair.

"You look better like this." She said with a grin

During the years that followed, the sisters would keep in touch on a regular basis but couldn't actually see each other. Until that day… Konan heard about what happened in Konoha that night. The fearsome Kyuubi had been let loose somehow and it had been ravaging the whole country for days. The newly appointed Hokage fought the Nine Tailed Fox victoriously, yet at the cost of his life. That last outburst of violence marked the end of the war between the countries, but not their rivalry.

_A few days later…_

"All right. I give you a week."

"Really?"

"But by that time, you must be back here. Else, I will come and get you. Don't forget your duty."

"Nagato, I could never thank you enough!" Konan answered with a grateful smile.

The road to Konoha was long and exhausting. I took actually two days from Amegakure to her sister's village. She decided to come unannounced. She wanted to surprise Kushina with that baby cloth she bought especially for her soon-to-be-born son, Naruto. When she arrived at the gate of Konoha, she presented her old visa of the Land of the Whirlpool.

"Your last name is Uzumaki?" the guard asked

"Yes. I'm Uzumaki Kushina's sister."

"The sister of…" the guard gave her a puzzled look

"Something wrong?" Konan asked

"Do you come to see her?"

"Obviously"

"Well… Follow me then."

The guard refused to answer any question she would ask about her sister until they arrived in a strangely silent glade.

"Where are you leading me?" Konan demanded suspiciously

"Your sister is here, lady" the guard said pointing to a huge, diamond-shaped obsidian sculpture that resembled a memorial "Look closer and you'll see her name."

"What do you mean she's here?" Konan asked, a hint of desperation in her voice. She already understood what the guard meant but this truth was too painful.

"You sister left us last week" A voice said behind them

Konan turned over to see a man in his 50's approaching them calmly. His red and white robe was already giving away his identity.

"Hokage-sama" The guard said, respectfully bowing to the man

"Good Morning, Konan. I was sort of expecting you to show up."

"Do you know me?" Konan said after giving a bow

"Kushina often talked about you… Kentaro you may leave. Your fellow is waiting for you at the gate."

"Yes Hokage-sama" The guard left quickly, leaving them both alone.

Tears were coming up the origami ninja's eyes. She didn't bother in containing her sobs and soon returned to the black gravestone to see the name of her sister. It was there, next to that of Minato Namikaze, her lover. It was too late… The Hokage came closer and put a comforting hand on her shoulder as she was kneeling.

"Kushina told me to give you this, Konan" he said, displaying a paper rose, the same one she gave to her back when they first met

"What happened?" Kushina asked, taking the flower "I know it will hurt me even more but it is better if you tell me now."

"Well if you insist…" the 3rd Hokage said regretfully "I don't think I need to remind you what happened last week. Actually, the Fourth Hokage performed a special sealing jutsu in order to contain the monster. But this jutsu has a price. In that case, it meant the death of Minato. He did it nevertheless and he sealed the Kyuubi in his unborn child. He died soon after. Kushina delivered quickly thereafter but the container of a tailed beast, especially one that powerful, always kills his mother upon delivery. We couldn't save her. But Naruto is here and he's alive."

Konan didn't answer and remained silent for a while. This old man had just explained that the blonde haired bastard had intentionally killed her sister.

"I'd like to see my nephew" she said in a dull tone

"Alright then. Follow me young Konan" the Sandaime said.

He led her to the Namikaze estate, where a midwife was taking care of the newborn baby. Naruto was a doppelganger of his father…

'That prick had the nerve to murder Kushina and make her son a mere container and furthermore, my nephew looks exactly like him' Konan thought, completely lost 'What should I do?'

With a nod, the Hokage ordered the midwife to hand the baby over to the blue haired kunoichi. Konan stood there, her arms dangling, still not knowing whether to accept or refuse.

"Don't be afraid, young lady" the old man said

Konan eventually took Naruto in her arms and looked at him. The baby opened his eyes and stared at her for a long time. She would never forget that moment. But her hatred for his father was still there, pounding in her heart and she finally gave back the baby to the nurse.

"I'd like to get some sleep" she told the Hokage " Is it possible for me to stay here tonight?"

"You're definitely welcome here, Konan. I just hoped we could have met under less dramatic circumstances. Stay here all you want. This property is yours by default since you're the sister of Kushina. I think she would be most pleased if you just took her role as a mother."

Mother? Could she possibly feel motherly towards a child that looked so much like the man who caused this situation?

"Actually, I wasn't planning to stay here for more than a week" She said "My home is somewhere else and I can't take care of a baby right now. I'm needed in my home country."

"Isn't your home country the Land of the Whirlpools?" the Sandaime asked

"Yes"

"Then your home is here as well. I can understand it if you have a duty to the Land of Rain but if you want we can cut you from it"

"I don't know about this." She said nervously "Please let me think it over"

"Sure. Make yourself at home. However, it would be most appreciated if you could give us a quick answer so we can act accordingly."

With that the Sandaime Hokage left, leaving her alone with the nurse and Naruto. She quickly went to her room and cried herself to sleep. The next morning, she didn't need to think much longer to know that she would never be able to actually love her nephew. Not bothering to properly dismiss herself, Konan left that same night, not before giving her sister's baby a last cradling session, the only one she would ever give him.

But Kushina was dead indeed. And with her, the kind-hearted Konan died as well, cursing her brother-in-law for having killed her sister. She would never forgive him. Their orphaned son looked so much like this bastard that she was incapable of any motherly feeling for him. Back in the Land of Rain, Konan had become an emotionless and cold woman that gave up her last name since the memory of her now decimated family was too painful a memory.

Nevertheless, she still had someone to care for.


	6. Konan Part 2 : After The Rain

_In Amegakure…_

Only rarely would the rain stop falling in here. The coloured lights of Amegakure where leading the way to the centre of the city. Konan brushed aside one her blue strands and pulled out the paper flower she gave to Kushina on the first and only day they would actually meet. She slipped it on the hair grip her sister gave her on that very day and never once parted from these two items ever since. In the stormy night, no one could see that the drops on her face where not only drops of rain. She hurried back to her hideout. Her turtle necked suit revealed her midriffs yet it was too dark for anyone to appreciate her slender figure properly.

She came to a halt and glanced back towards the village's gate. But it was too late to come back to Konoha and she didn't really want to anyway. Her place was here, near the one she loved, even if she never voiced her feelings.. As she entered her hideout, a voice called her from the shadows.

"I wasn't expecting you so early, Konan. What made you come back before the end of your vacation?" His voice was different. Less raspy and deeper. Much deeper.

"If you don't mind, I prefer not to talk about it."

He didn't need to ask any further questions. He actually knew just what had happened. He already saw her face when she lost her parents back in the days.

"It's quite fortunate you came back that early" he said "I wanted to show you something"

"What?"

"Come over and follow me"

And she did, even though she felt there was definitely something abnormal. She pulled out a kunai, just in case. Nagato led her to that room he had always forbidden her to visit. Strangely, she still couldn't quite see him, as if he was shrouded in darkness.

"Nagato what…"

"Don't call me that no more, Konan" he commanded in that newfound deep voice of his "As of now, I will go by Pein"

And she eventually saw him. She couldn't move anymore, petrified by the sight of the one standing in front of her.

"Ya….Yahiko…"

"I am not Yahiko" The orange-haired man told her. "Yahiko died as well as you know. I'm just using his body"

Konan couldn't talk anymore. She was too dumbfounded to even think of anything to say. The man looked exactly like a grown up version of their childhood friend. Spiky orange hair, a defiant expression and these unique eyes that only Nagato had. Yet what struck her the most was the incredible number of piercings studding his face. He also had put on a strange, completely black robe. The room looked like a conservation chamber. A rack of human-sized glass tubes was aligned in front of a strange machine. She could make out two other bodies in the tubes. One of them was placed apart, in an orange tube. Perhaps his actual body.

"The surfacing of the Kyuubi was our cue, Konan. And for you it's time to know about what is going to happen in the next years." He took a breath and went on "Back when Jiraiya-sensei was teaching us, I developed my bloodline, the Rinnegan. As well as you know, only the descendants of the One-Who-Created-The-World have this bloodline limit. Which means I'm a chosen one. Back in the days, Yahiko wanted all this violence to end. Well I think it's time for us to give him what he wanted and make this world a world of peace. Yet this world is not ready for peace. There are still too many people who want to wage war over futile things. Then we have no other choice than force them into it. But since the only thing ninjas respect is strength we have to come up with something strong enough to scare them into submission and teach them that fighting is meaningless. When all our neighbouring countries are pacified, it will be time to initiate this whole new era. But before that, I need to make my Rinnegan sufficiently effective to be useful and this is where **you **step in."

Konan still didn't answer. She was listening carefully.

"Your part will be to keep our base from being entered by anybody else. As you can see, there are 7 tubes and I need to fill 4 more with bodies fit enough for me to use the Rinnegan to its full extent. My true body is over there in that one" He pointed at the orange tube "Under no condition you shall open this tube unless I'm asking you to" His voice was moving to a strangely menacing tone "And I will not condone any violation of this rule. In 48 hours, I will leave this place. I have caught track of Jiraiya-sensei and I mean to follow him. I need to find the bodies of exceptional ninjas, ones whose abilities are sufficiently powerful for me to build the Six Paths of Pain with six of the strongest shinobis specialised in each of the 6 chakra types. When those Six Paths are completed, it will be time to launch the second part of our plan. I will inform you in due time."

"Why do you want to follow Jiraiya?" Konan asked "Why him?"

"That man knows how to raise the best in everyone. I never met anyone who could do that better than him. And there will be a time when he will come here and fight us again. If we succeed in defeating him then, it means we are strong enough to launch the final stage, but let's not dwell on that. For now, you will stay here and guard my bodies. You also need to play dead. No one can know what is going on here and no one should be allowed to stop us. Everyone must believe we're dead so spread rumours about this so we can act without restriction. "

"Nag…uh…. Pein, why are you doing this? What is it all for? I mean, why do you take charge of all of this? Why do you believe that I will follow you no questions asked?"

Pein came nearer to her than he ever did.

"Don't you want this to stop Konan? Aren't you tired to have to loose everyone you care for? Your parents, your sister…"

"Yes but does this mean you have to play Kami?"

"This is what this world lacks Konan. A Kami-like king. I know I am not Kami but if people believe I am, then we can stop this violent world from existing and turn it to a peaceful realm. And I know you will help me." He put his hand on her face, gently caressing her cheek. He never did this before. She remained silent. "I know you will help me because you always did. And this time I am not asking your help as a business partner because you have always been more than this"

_More than this? _"What do you mean?" she said weakly

"When I become king of this world, I shall need a queen to help me govern my realm. And I wouldn't choose anybody else than the woman who always got my back since the beginning. Stand by me still Konan, and someday this world will be ours" He leaned even closer to her, inches away from her face. "My queen."

"But Pein, I… I…" she stuttered

"Don't you love me Konan?"

She was speechless. She didn't know how much time she stayed without moving before she slowly nodded in agreement. Pein smiled.

"Well, know that this love is returned. Now be mine." With that, he made his lips meet hers. Although she had the strange feeling of kissing Yahiko, she felt it was _him_ and no one else. The one she loved, the man named Pein. She never thought she could feel so good with a simple kiss. Yes , she was his. She had always been from the very start.

"Since you accepted to be my queen, please wear this." Pein produced a white pearl piercing.

"Is it a gift?" Konan asked

"Yes. You may wear this as a statement that you already have given yourself to someone. It means you are mine and no one else's." Without any further word, Pein pinned the small pearl onto her lower lip. It hurt a bit but it didn't last too long.

"Pein…"

"Yes?"

"Could you kiss me again?"

He didn't answer and simply put his arms around her and complied… For the first time since years, she felt truly happy.

* * *

During the years that followed, Konan was always by his side. She was the privileged witness of all of Pein's achievements and the guardian of his bodies. She was the only one to know his true form. Every time he came back with a new body, she could see his powers grow, his strength increasing each and every time. Actually she didn't recall having seen him loose even once, not even to Yahiko when the three of them would spar under their sensei's command. When Pein gathered all the six bodies he needed, she helped him in defeating the hated Kage of the Rain Village, the very man who killed her mother while she was helpless, Hanzo. She also watched as he killed each and every person that would be affiliated to him, even children, even babies. But she didn't care. All what mattered was him and their aim. Because he was the one to give a meaning to her life, because she knew that these sacrifices weren't made for the sake of it. It served a higher purpose that only she and Pein knew about. 

She remembered that night when both where left in Hanzo's apartments that were now theirs to use. He would always use the body of Yahiko by default. He said it was the most convenient to use in Ame since he could control the rain with it as well as tracking the chakra of anyone moving in it. Moreover, it always reminded of what his purpose was.

"Come over and watch with me Konan" Pein said

She complied and he put her in front of him, hugging her from behind. Down below, the commoners were celebrating the instatement of their newly appointed chief. The rain had stopped that night. He spoke in a low voice, so that only she could hear. Konan cherished those way too rare moments of privacy where he would let go of his usual stern, unsympathetic ways and show her his heart. She cherished them because those moments were meant for her only.

"Thank you Konan"

"Excuse me?"

"I said thank you. Do you see this?" He waved towards the crowd "This would have never been possible without you. I wanted to thank you for helping in making my dreams come true. You're an angel."

"An angel?"

"Yes. And this is what you will be from now on. Since I mean to become Kami in here, you shall be my angel and carry out my will as you always did"

"Pein I don't know if I can…"

"You will be able to. I'm sure of it." He said flatly "I know there is no way you could ever fail me"

"But what if I loose against an opponent? I might be strong, I'm not like you. I already lost to you many times back when we were kids"

"If you ever loose to an opponent then my role would be to punish them for having dared to harm you. No one should be able to do that to you other than me" he declared in an icy tone. He was meaning it.

"You want to hurt me?"

"If you fail me I **will** hurt you" His expression was neutral. It was a statement, not even a threat. It made it even scarier.

She turned around and faced him, looking right in his mesmerizing eyes. Whenever she looked at them, she felt as if he could read her mind.

"I would never do that Pein" she said "I can't let the one I love down."

"I know that. This is why you are here tonight with me. And this is also why I am going to make love to you now" No matter how tender he was to her, he was always domineering. His mouth made fast to hers. She gave in, not even trying to pretend she didn't want to.

And she let him do. She let him strip her from all of her garments and lay her on the bed. Surprisingly, he blindfolded her right after getting himself naked.

"What are you doing?" she asked in surprise

"Don't ask and enjoy" he commanded "This is how I want to repay you for all what you did for me"

And she did. For the first time in their lives, he touched, he fondled, and he rubbed her. And the celebration outside covered her moans of pleasure and his restless panting. After all the battles they had led together, they were now comforting and healing each other in a mess of sweat, tears, rustling sheets, scratches and sensuous kisses. All through the night until their exhausted bodies couldn't give anymore. Until they ended up locked in each other's arms, letting sleep claim its stakes.

_The following day, late in the afternoon…_

"Konan there is someone I want you to meet" Pein said leading her to yet another part of their brand new base

Without a word, Konan followed him. He ushered her in a room that looked like a parlour. There a dark figure was waiting for them, gazing through the window. When he turned to them, she could see the orange mask that covered his entire face, save from his right eye. He wore a strange black coat spangled with red clouds. His voice was strange, almost magnetic in tone.

"I am pleased to meet you at last Konan-san" the man said "My name is Uchiha Obito. But to anyone but the two of you, I go by Tobi"

Konan nodded in agreement but kept silent. Something inside of her told her to remain so.

"I am most impressed by your prowess in helping Pein is his task, and now it's time for you to know the next step of our plan"

'Their plan' she thought 'But I thought Pein was doing it all by himself'

She then learned that Pein and the man had known each other upon the civil war of Amegakure, the one that occurred before Pein set out to track Jiraiya in his exploration of the world. Actually, the man was left to die by the 4th Hokage ('That pissant again' she thought), his sensei. He never explained how he escaped from a certain death. All he condescended to explain was that he was the one who learnt about the tailed beats and who let loose the Nine Tailed Demon Fox years ago. He said that he wanted to see and measure the beast's power. Although it was eventually defeated, the Fox was still sleeping in the 4th Hokage's son, her nephew. The man also said that the only way to ensure peace was to hold a weapon strong enough to pacify the different countries. And this weapon had just been finished. She was lead in the basement of the Amekage's building, in a wide grotto where the man told them to wait. He moulded some chakra and then she saw that gigantic statue where she would have her place, just like Pein and some other people she would meet later on. This is where they would store the Bijuus. In total, there were nine to collect. And once this task was finished, it would be time to initiate the final phase of the plan: pacifying the countries, one by one until they all acknowledge the power of their newborn organization: Akastuki. From now on, Konan and Pein would wear the same garment as Tobi was, as well as a one of the ten rings each member would wear, as a distinctive sign of membership. Pein personally slipped hers onto her right middle finger. The ring read _Byakko, _the White Tiger. Pein added that she would only report to him as he was now their leader and that she would be his partner. Konan followed his word to the letter.

More members were gradually recruited, all of them powerful missing nins, she had only heard of. Still she recognized that man she once met when she was a little girl. The man also recognized her. But Orochimaru didn't last long as a member of Akatsuki. His own ambitions were way too demanding for him to even think of acting in the interest of somebody else. This very attitude cost him his left hand, yet he kept the little finger ring of said hand with him. As for Tobi, he said that it would be better if he kept a low profile and made himself a subordinate to the organization's spy, Zetsu.

Konan knew each of the members distinctively yet would seldom ever talk to any of them, be it in their ritual meetings or in a one-to-one talk. Thus, despite her beauty, no member ever propositioned to her. Perhaps because of her link with their leader or perhaps because of her icy demeanour. Deidara tried to woo her soon after he joined the organization as the ninth member, but the look she gave him was enough to turn him down. However, she would sometime have an amicable talk with Itachi Uchiha, a missing nin of Konohagakure who had known her sister and who kept her updated on what was going on in the country she had turned her back on.

During her time in the Akatsuki, Konan trained thoroughly under the command of Pein and Kisame Hoshigaki, one of the members she appreciated the most for his polite, respectful ways on the rare occasions he talked to her.

Her status as the Leader's partner also made her second-in-command of sorts, a fact that was somewhat resented by some members. She remembered that day when Hidan directly addressed to her:

"Pfft! I still don't get why you hang around with us really! I mean what can you do? Some fucking origami and then what? Who the hell would be scared by some shit like this? Anyways we don't need a vagina in here unless you want us to bang you up!" Hidan was always incredibly rude and vulgar, even to Pein himself.

"Hidan-san, is this kind of rudeness necessary?" she asked, trying to remain calm

"You gonna cry, princess? Face it, bitch! If it weren't for that damn orange-haired faggot over there, I would've already **had **you. And I'm sure you must give decent blowjobs otherwise he wouldn't protect you all the time and shit. By yourself you're nothing!" Hidan unzipped his robe, letting everyone know he wore nothing under it "Now come over here and do what you do best!"

Konan approached meekly and swiftly decapitated the loudmouthed prick with a paper blade she had molded while he was talking.

"You talk too much Hidan-san" Konan said "It dulls your reflexes. Just for you to know, paper is actually made out of wood. Moulded properly, wood can cut just as well as metal. Next time you address to me in a similar way, I will cut something else that might just dissuade you from going commando in public."

"I'll fuck you up someday bitch!" the severed head shouted "And you will love it! I will shag you until you beg me to stop!"

She turned to him and uttered clearly with absolute scorn "In your dreams!"

This kind of altercation was quite rare, and yes Konan almost never left Pein's side. It was actually their only display of affection when around their fellows or outside in the world.

And then the time came when Konoha started to hunt them all down, killing them one after the other after they extracted the Bijuu from the Fourth Kazekage who happened to be a friend of Konan's nephew. She remembered when she first saw a grown-up Naruto with his comrades, right before the grotto where his friend was lying dead. She recognized him right away, without even looking closely. His fiery attitude, his spiky blond hair, his impossibly large grin… All in him screamed Minato Namikaze . A bit later, she also learned from Itachi that the little brat was dreaming about becoming Hokage. Just like his father…

'That little shit needs to die! Protecting a stupid, worthless village with his so-called power? How dare he using that damn Fox's strength when it killed his own mother? Just WHO can he protect with that?' she thought.

Konan remembered their first encounter, the first time she would ever talk to him since he was born. She and Pein had been chasing him along with his team mates. Konan insisted that she would deal with him herself, something Pein didn't mind and he contained Naruto's team mates with clones of themselves while she cornered him:

"Who the fuck are you?" Naruto had asked

"Don't you remember me?"

"No otherwise I wouldn't ask! And I would like to know whose butt I am about to kick!"

"Oh yeah, that's right. When we first met, you were just a toddler. Still I don't think your mother would have appreciated your being so rude to me."

"What have you just said?" an even more ticked off Naruto asked

"My name is… Uzumaki Konan. It is nice to meet you at last… my nephew."

She watched bemused as Naruto gave in to the ground, his mouth gaping and tears coming to his eyes.

"You're…my…aunt?!" was all that he could say

She would have captured him, if it weren't for that ninja couple who meddled in her fight with her nephew. That Sand kunoichi… She was the one who blew her away while she was about to ensnare Naruto. The shadow user attacked Pein directly so he couldn't focus enough for the clones to remain active. Both retreated since they couldn't win against so many shinobis, at their back and Pein didn't have his other bodies to help them out.

In the end, they were the last two Akatsuki members standing along with Tobi. She fought the Sand kunoichi and the Leaf Chuunin once more but, that time, both proved being powerful enough to make her get serious. When she was done with them, she was utterly out of chakra and unable to use any technique. The rose in her hair was torn to shreds. What Naruto did to Pein right before her eyes, she would never forgive. Her nephew had taken every person she cared for away from her. Her sister, her man.

When Naruto stood above her and a dying Pein, he was unable to hurt her, due to their blood tie, the only one he had left.

"Please forgive me, auntie."

"**Forgive you?** Are you fucking kidding me? You killed the only person I loved and you want me to _forgive _you?" her voice was a mess of sobs.

"Please, I had no choice. It's not like I _wanted_ to do this! Hell, nor did I ever _intended_ to kill my mother! My father made a mistake but it was not my fault! If you give it a chance, maybe we could just make up for it and…"

"**Just shut up! **How could you make up for anything like this! You'll never…"

"Konan…" Pein interrupted weakly

"Yes"

"I'm….sorry…I…I…wanted to give you the world. Looks…l-like… I can't… Please for-forgive…me…" his voice died with his last body

Konan yelled out in grief and held her lover's last corpse, begging him not to leave her alone. She then planted a look of pure hate in her nephew's eyes.

"You'd better kill me now, Naruto! If you don't, I will make sure you regret it the rest of your life"

"I can't do that."

"You coward !"

"Kill her Naruto!" a young pink-haired girl said behind him "She will make your life miserable if you let her live! Kill her now while she can't defend herself!"

"I just can't okay! She's my fucking aunt! She's the only family member I have left! I can't kill her just like that! Are you stupid or what?"

"You **will** regret it Naruto" Konan said "You took away my chance at happiness twice, you will pay for that." She then turned her attention to the injured Leaf Chuunin who was carrying the even more injured Sand Kunoichi. "And I won't forget the both of you either. If it weren't for you maybe I could have prevented him from doing this. You'll get your share as well. I swear I will hunt down and slay all of you!"

Everyone watched as Konan divided herself and left in a swirl of paper, taking away with her the body of Yahiko, the last body Pein was seen in and buried it next to one of the rare trees of Amegakure. She went back to Tobi, despondently telling him the facts. She only owed her life to Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke, who challenged Tobi to fight him right when he was about to punish the blue haired kunoichi. Konan escaped from the scene and exiled herself in the Snow country, away from it all, to mourn her lover in peace. She gave up on her Akatsuki robe and kept it hidden all this time, keeping in touch regularly with the only Akatsuki subordinate to still be alive, the Konoha elder Danzo.

* * *

All these things went through her mind as she watched the trio she tailed finally settling down to take a break. All the pain, the mourning, the solitude, and all the things she lost because of those shinobi fuckers. It was payback time. And the Sand Kunoichi would do just fine as first name on her list. 

She waited calmly for the three ninjas to finish eating. She swallowed a food pill in the meantime in order to replenish herself and waited for the Kazekage's sister to take her shift on the watch.

Temari knew _she_ was here. She was lurking nearby. She could feel her killer intent and her hostile chakra, yet she couldn't tell exactly were she was.

'Tricky bitch!' Temari thought 'I knew that time would come. I just had to take the first turn on the watch. I don't want Chouji and Ino to get hurt."

Before she could do anything, she noticed a strange smell. She looked back at her sleeping team mates and saw a blue smoke around them. As a botanist, it didn't take long for her to recognize what it was. Peyotl and poppy pollen! A highly poisonous substance that caused any sleeping person to enter a deep, long hallucinogenic trance. She tried to dispel it but it was too late. They already had inhaled enough pollen and no matter how hard she shook them, Ino and Chouji remained asleep. And her ninja skills couldn't help at all in that situation. It was no Genjutsu, just pollen. The poison wasn't deadly but it sure made anyone out cold for quite some time. Temari stood up and closed her eyes.

There was no way around it; she had to fight her now. She remembered her horrible fight with the aunt of Naruto, the way she had managed to defeat both of them, leaving her and Shikamaru horribly wounded. Temari sure had improved since then, but will it be enough to fight off the woman who almost killed her and Shikamaru back then? Time to find out!

"Alright, let's not play games in the shadows anymore. Come out now" Temari commanded

She didn't even look at the woman who loomed out of the darkness. She knew just who she was.

"Long time no see, Lady Konan"

"Yes indeed. Please forgive me if I put you bodyguards to sleep but they would just get in the way. Since when do you refer to me by this title?"

"Since I have learned that you are indeed affiliated to one of Konoha's founding clans. Don't worry about my companions. I wanted to deal with you myself anyway" Temari said, clenching her fan as she turned to the woman.

"How did you know I was tailing you? In no way you could have detected my chakra, I was too far and using my Invisibility Jutsu." Kotono inquired

"Well you should try to use your imagination more often. I already saw your butterflies more than once. You should have used something else to spy on us. Moreover, I scanned the surroundings by sharpening the air pressure waves around us while we were in the trees and I heard your robe flowing. With these two hint I just made my guess about who was on our tail. "

"Well done. Glad to see you've improved during all this time. The fight will be more interesting that way."

"Damn true!" Temari said "But those two have nothing to do with this. If you want to fight, let's just get far enough so they won't get hurt in their sleep"

"I don't mind. Let's go!"

Both leapt away from the sleeping Chouji and Ino. When they were far enough, Temari unfurled her fan and stood right before Konan.

"Let's do it, Lady Konan"

"Let's see if you've actually improved, Sand wench!"


	7. Showdown!

_In the Land of Fire's Crater Valley…_

Shikamaru was running behind Temari's beech marten still. How long, how fast have they been going on like that, he didn't care. Just knowing that Temari, Chouji and Ino were maybe already fighting Konan was giving him enough stamina to go ahead.

The blue haired woman… Naruto's aunt… A pretty passive S-class criminal yet known to be ruthless when in battle. He and Temari had already fought her once, her and the Akatsuki's Leader with whom she was involved. And he had to admit that he never had such a close brush with death than then. Even when he fought Tayuya a long time ago.

Thinking about that woman did bring back memories. And not very good ones…

He remembered the Akatsuki. He recalled Hidan and Asuma. The way Hidan stabbed his sensei to death. Asuma's parting words, and the excruciating pain that submerged him, Ino and Chouji as their sensei disappeared in a puff of tobacco smoke. How forlorn they had felt and how all three took the oath to avenge him. He remembered Kurenai's despair. How he began to smoke and how he and his friends tracked down and got rid of Hidan. The bastard was immortal thus there was no actual way to kill him. Still, there were fates even worse than death. The torture of ennui and solitude would be just as grim. This is what he thought as he buried Hidan alive in this rock grave where he would remain forever, neatly chopped to pieces.

Neither he nor his team mates had to confront any other Akatsuki member. Until that day. Temari and him were finishing the organization of the Chuunin exams when Shizune stormed in their office, saying Tsunade needed them for an A-rank mission. The Fifth Hokage ordered them to go to the aid ot Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Hinata, Kiba and Shino who just had caught sight of two Akatsuki members. Shikamaru and Temari accepted and rushed to the shrine where both missing nins were supposed to be lurking.

Arriving on the premise, both halted on the cliff towering above the Jin Sanctuary, in the northwest of the Land of Fire, towards Taki no Kuni. Both could make out two Akatsuki members. Their conspicuous red and black robes were really not suited to blend in the landscape. It took them a little more time to notice Naruto and his comrades.

"Naruto is cornered" Shikamaru said after putting his binoculars back in his vest "Sai, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba and Shino are fighting replications of themselves. Clones or flesh puppets. I could see the Akatsuki nin controlling these hiding next to the marble columns. The other one seems to be talking to Naruto and is not actually attacking him for the moment. They are over there, next to the fountain."

"What do you suggest?"

"We may split. I know it's dangerous but we have no choice. I trust you not to be too brash; it would just be too bothersome to have to save you. I already have enough to do with the orange-haired freak over there."

He ignored the murderous stare on Temari's face.

"What have you just said, you ungrateful bum ? You wouldn't come to my aid if I were in danger?" she said, grabbing her fan

"Well don't you always say you can take care of yourself and shit ? Then here's the opportunity to prove it. Unless you want to act like a **real** woman this time and leave the men's work to the men. "

A loud "BONK" was heard.

"**OW**! What was that for, you bitch?"

Temari violently grabbed him by his Chuunin vest's collar with one hand and squeezed his crotch hard with the other, sticking her face in his as if she meant to kiss him.

"Question my femininity or call me a bitch just **one** more time and you can bid farewell to your manhood. Clear?"

"C…Cr…. Crystal" Shikamaru struggled to say between gritted teeth

"Good." She didn't release him

"P…Pl… Please Temari, let me go"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" she said tightening her grip on his equipment

"I… am… sorry…"

Temari didn't let go

"You're missing a word. I want to hear the whole sentence."

"I am sorry, honey!"

"Much better!" She let go of him.

Shikamaru kneeled down, trying to nurse his hurt sack.

"Do you really think that was necessary?"

"You need to learn how to respect women, you chauvinist! " Temari said, picking up her fan and cramming it back in its strap.

'Why do I always have to like overbearing bitches?' Shikamaru thought 'Even Naruto is luckier than me with women. At least Hinata will never hit him!'

"Okay then. Let's move on. We have work to do." Temari said "Be careful okay?"

"One last thing, Temari" the genius said as he stood back up, averting his crotch just in case.

"What is it now?" She asked in exasperation

He approached and leaned forward, catching her lips with his.

"Take care."

That kind of moment reminded him why he loved her despite her loud, bossy temper. She was tough but still could show her tender side if prompted properly.

"I will."

He was about to go but she grabbed his arm, pulling him back into another of their heated kiss. She gave him one of her triumphant grins before both parted ways to fulfil their respective missions.

Once he was far enough, Temari let the huge blush she was containing wash over her.

'Dammit! He's only 15 and he's already THAT big? I never noticed it with his baggy pants but wow!'

Shikamaru didn't see the blue-haired woman, since he had to deal with the orange-haired renegade who was controlling the clones of his comrades. Upon seeing his face, he hardly could repress a surprised look. His appearance was so similar to that of Naruto that he thought them as siblings. But the man standing before him was nothing like the wannabe Hokage he knew. After having caught him in his Shadow Possession Technique, the man turned back, without effort, as if the technique had failed. But in fact he had just reversed it and was now the one controlling Shikamaru.

"Nice try, Godless Heathen." the man said "But the shadow possession jutsu is just as unique as it is easily reversible. You're from Konoha's Nara Clan aren't you?"

"Yes. How do you know?"

Shikamaru had never experienced his own jutsu and had to admit that the feeling of being that powerless was unbearable. But anyways, that was part of the plan since his role wasn't to kill the ninja but rather buying enough time for his companions to get rid of the clones and for Temari to fight off the other Akatsuki member to help Naruto.

"Well, looks like you don't live up to your clan's reputation. Then allow me to cut you from public disgrace."

Without even budging, Pein made Shikamaru take a kunai in his weapon pouch. His sheer will controlled the jutsu and Shikamaru's body. And there was seemingly no way to fight it. No matter how hard he fought it, his body was moving on its own.

"Choose. You can stab yourself to death, slash your wrists or slit your throat. Choose the most convenient way for you to die."

"And what if I don't intend to die?"

"Well then I'll choose for you the most painful way."

Shikamaru took off his Chuunin vest , his shirt and his fishnet undershirt, still under Pein's control.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"It will just be easier for you to disembowel yourself if you're shirtless." Pein stated in a matter-of-fact voice

"WHAT?"

And the Leaf Nin lifted the kunai to plunge it in his defenceless tummy. Out of nowhere, another kunai flew right at his hand, disarming him. Both he and Pein froze in surprise.

A young Leaf Chuunin riding an enormous white dog busted in and lunged at Shikamaru while a swarm of black bugs was beginning to creep up Pein's legs. Grabbing Shikamaru by the waist, Kiba put his comrade out of the missing nin's reach in a flash while Shino's insects were beginning to gnaw away at his chakra with his bugs. Quickly, Sai, Hinata and Sakura showed up around Pein, preparing to attack him en masse. But the missing nin simply teleported away along with his lover, saying he would catch up with them later.

That first encounter was nothing compared to what they went through upon the battle between Pein and Naruto. In one of the grottos where they used to perform the Bijuu extraction and imprisonment, Zetsu, Pein and Konan had been ordered to finish them all off and capture the Kyuubi inside Naruto. While Gaara and Sai where taking on Pein with Naruto, Chouji, Ino and Kankuro were attacking Zetsu and he was fighting Konan with Temari and Sakura. Neither him nor Temari had actually seen Naruto's aunt in action before, thus he had no idea how to defeat her. But at the moment she attacked, he was sure they wouldn't escape unscathed from this fight.

"**Paper Swarm Jutsu"**

All three watched, transfixed, as Konan turned herself into a maelstrom of sheets of paper that hovered for a short while before swooping down on them.

"Get behind you two" Temari ordered before unfolding her fan

"**Great ****Cyclone Jutsu"**

As the tornado was about to strike, the swarm simply split in half before reforming and attacking again.

'Of course. Too easy.' Shikamaru thought 'Temari can't use her most powerful attacks where we are now, the grotto's ceiling would cave in. There isn't enough light for me to use my jutsus efficiently and Sakura can't attack her in that form. We have to lure her outside and oblige her to keep a solid form.'

"Split!" he shouted at his mates before Konan hit the ground.

"Use Shadow clones and head out! We must make her split and have her come outside."

"Alright!" Both Temari and Sakura answered before producing clones of themselves.

All three ran in different directions, forcing Konan to divide herself into smaller swarms that went after each clone of her opponents;

'Smart bastard! My jutsu weakens if I have to do that. But I must stop them before they get out. They will be much more powerful in open air.'

Slowly, Konan gathered herself back to her normal physical form to attack them in another way. But she was helpless in that process, something Temari didn't miss. As she was about to reform, the blue-haired kunoichi was blown away by a powerful tornado that pushed her towards the grotto's entrance, causing her extreme pain. She landed hard on the ground, before Sakura punched her so powerfully that she literally flew outside.

'Shit! I underestimated them.' Konan thought as she rubbed her jaw that hurt like hell.

"Good" Shikamaru said "Now we know what kind of attacks she uses. But this was no trump card. So this is what we're going to do : Sakura you will get at her with taijutsu. She certainly isn't of the close range combat type. If we are lucky enough, you will distract her sufficiently for me to capture her in my jutsu."

"And then what?" Temari asked

"I'll tell you in due time. For now let's run after her."

Konan was still a bit dazed. But se had no time to ease off, Sakura was striking again. The missing kunoichi saw the girl jumping on her, her leg raised towards the sky.

"**Painful Sky Leg"**

By the skin of her teeth, Konan jumped aside and avoided the kick that decimated the soil where she was standing only a few seconds ago.

"Annoying little brat! Don't take me lightly! **Wood Style : Wooden Javelins**"

Around Sakura, the branches of the trees surrounding the grotto lifted and were quickly moulded into menacing pikes that darted onto her.

Although she succeeded in discarding most of them, a long, sharp quill pierced through her leg, causing her to sit in pain. As another one was aiming at her heart, a huge, four-bladed shuriken shattered it to pieces. Konan conjured eight kunais that she threw at Shikamaru and Temari while Sakura was already starting to heal herself after taking the wooden quill out of her leg.

'The girl is a medic-nin? Thus I have to get rid of her first, the other two could use her powers to regenerate and this battle would never end.'

That was when a huge explosion was heard. A wave of dust spread all around, blurring their visions. When all could eventually see something, they saw a giant Chouji standing among the debris of the destroyed cliff and hiding the sun. He had used his super size technique to break through the grotto. They could distinguish the dead body of Zetsu, as well as one of the six Peins, lying among the rubble. Zetsu had tried to phase in the cave's walls to attack. He and the long-haired body of Pein simply had been crushed to a pulp between the wall and Chouji's body. Shikamaru tried to take advantage of the confusion to catch Konan. His shadow connected with hers but it didn't immobilize her. She simply disappeared in a flurry of sheets.

"You're not the only one able to use a shadow clone you know" a falsely sweet voice said behind him "Except in my case it was simply made of paper"

Konan held him from behind and began to disintegrate in to a tornado of paper that quickly covered him. How could paper feel so heavy? He was beginning to choke, smothered by a thousand sheets. They looked as if they were stuck onto him, he couldn't quite remove them. This is when he felt something quite hot on his back and heard an alarming crackling sound, as if he was….burning!!! Shikamaru tried to scream but somebody else did in his stead, as the paper sheets unravelled around him. He recognized Konan's voice. The blue haired kunoichi quickly reassembled herself to her human form, her robe completely burnt up the right leg, showing off her thigh high boots. She shot a murderous look at Temari, who was smirking flauntingly at her, holding a miniature explosive note in her hand.

"Oh sorry! I just thought you made decent bonfire material!" the sand beauty said. She then switched to a furious stare with a lunatic grin "You tried to kill my man, bitch? Then prepare to know a long, painful death! "

"You talk too much" Konan answered flatly

Konan waved towards Temari and the latter saw a volley of paper shurikens aiming at her. She owed her life to her dancing skills: she spun around fast enough to dodge all of the paper weapons thrown at her . Sakura ran towards Konan, preparing to give another of her clouts but, at the moment she connected with the Akatsuki woman, her fist met thin air. Put off-balance, Sakura couldn't avoid the violent blow to the nape that Konan gave her, knocking her out.

"Even a Genin knows that a ninja should never come straight at the opponent." Konan stated simply before avoiding another blow that came from Temari that time. The sand nin had simply folded her fan and was now using it as a club. Konan tried to disintegrate one more time when she landed but found herself unable to move. Moreover, two hand shaped shadows were now creeping up her body.

"Don't try to fight lady" Shikamaru said "Once you're caught in my jutsu there is no way for you to dispel it. Temari, do you want to finish the job?"

"Oh yes! Let me take care of her!" she said to a now helpless Konan who didn't seem affected a bit "I like that. You still act tough even though you're minutes away from a certain death. Well let's see if you can still hold that neutral face once you're reduced to shreds!" Temari raised her hand to the sky.

"**Wind Style: Sev…" **she couldn't finish her incantation. A strong and swift jab to the face interrupted her. Pein's default body was standing over her, his face expressing a cold anger. He simply took a hold of the blond kunoichi's fan and tore the lining with a sole gesture, making it useless. Temari stood in shock, not believing what she was seeing.

"My…My fan…" was all that she could say. It was one of the only things she owned that remembered her of Sabaku No Karura, her late mother. She had given the fan to Temari when she was just a little girl.

Not paying the Sand nin any further mind, Pein walked slowly and confidently towards the Leaf shinobi who had caught Konan in his Shadow technique. Shikamaru calmly made his shadow hands crawl hitherto the neck of his captive. He had already seen this man and knew his abilities. Trying to go one on one with him was plain suicidal. It was better to play on another field.

"Don't come any further" the Lazy Genius said "I don't think I need to tell you what would happen if you did"

Pein didn't stop walking. Without hesitating, Shikamaru outright began to strangle Konan with his jutsu. Pein still walked calmly towards him. Shikamaru dropped a sweat. The man was way too powerful for him to handle this on his own. Suddenly, a nylon thread wrapped itself around him, but Pein moved aside so quickly that Temari could only ensnare his forearm. The Leader of Akatsuki didn't even bother turning around and yanked the thread to him, dragging along the young ninja. Temari couldn't even block the heavy blow he gave to her stomach and fell unconscious seconds after. Pein tranquilly stepped into Shikamaru's jutsu and reversed it with a simple chakra moulding gesture, a bit like he did back then. Konan walked out of the shadow wielder's shadow and went towards Temari.

"I think you've gone far enough for me to torture you with the best of refinements" Pein uttered "No one touches Konan without paying for it"

"What are you going to do?" Shikamaru asked, trying to remain calm

"Watch" Pein ordered without saying anything more

Konan took back a chakra moulding stance and the shurikens she made earlier flew dangerously around the unconscious Sand kunoichi. The female Akatuki held her up and slapped her awake.

"Behold your death bravely if you're really the daughter of the Kazekage, you wench" the blue haired woman told a now completely defenceless Temari

Temari tried to struggle free but the older woman's grip was even stronger than hers. She was next to done for. She glanced at Shikamaru in despair and saw him smirk…before disappearing in a puff a smoke. Just like the supposedly unconscious Sakura. Konan and Pein looked at each other in disbelief before hearing the humongous rumbling sound. Seconds later, the earth was shattered so hard that both missing nins couldn't stand correctly anymore. Sakura had struck from the bushes she was hiding in, having let her clone take the lead right after she had come out of the grotto. Seeing Konan loosing her grasp on Temari, Shikamaru leapt from the tree he was hiding in, kicked Konan in the chest and grabbed Temari from her. But when he noticed the paper shurikens and the wooden pikes aiming at them, it was too late. Blood sprayed and two screams were clearly heard…

Fortunately, Naruto stepped in at the very moment both Akatsukis intended to finish them off. Thanks to Sakura, Shikamaru got healed enough to keep on fighting and contained Konan during the heated fight that opposed Naruto to Pein. He didn't feel any remorse in doing so. The bitch had wounded Temari so seriously that she couldn't move anymore and Sakura had to burn out all of her chakra to prevent her from dying of blood loss. Not to mention that she and her bastard of a lover had intended on doing the exact same thing to him firsthand.

He also remembered the words of a furious Konan, holding her dying lover, threatening to exact revenge on them all…

_Back in the present…_

'Naruto should have killed her then' Shikamaru thought. But it was too late to make up for the past and the Lazy Genius went on, still guided by Temari's beech marten.

_Somewhere else in the Crater Valley…_

"**Wood Style: Wooden Javelins"**

Temari watched with a smirk as the spears of Konan were aiming at her.

"This technique got old" she stated "If that's all you can do you'd better give up now! **Great Cyclone jutsu!**"

Temari's tornado sent the pikes flying apart. Konan remained with her usual, emotionless mask.

"Well, I assumed you wouldn't fall for such a classic trick then let's get serious."

The Akatsuki woman took on a standard chakra moulding stance. Yet, this time she didn't attack as Temari expected. Instead, the blonde kunoichi saw two large paper wings sprouting from her opponents back. Konan flew out of reach.

"Are you chickening out of it?" Temari asked, her voice filled with contempt

Konan spoke down "Don't jump to conclusions."

With that Konan took again a chakra moulding stance. Temari didn't wait for her to finish her jutsu and raised her hand to the sky, like she meant to do last time they faced each other. Except this time it would be a stronger version.

"**Wind Style: Double Vortex Pressure"**

Nothing happened. Temari didn't even flinch. This was just how the jutsu worked. Konan for her part had finished her moulding. Too late. While she was about to launch her attack, Konan felt a whirlwind coming down on her, she tried to escape but a second one was coming from under and soon she was trapped. The vortex caused was supposed to apply so much pressure on the opponent that it would normally knock them out in the best case. At worst, it could simply make their internal organs explode. When the wind stopped, Temari came closer to capture Konan yet she couldn't see her anywhere. Some paper sheets were there instead.

'Bitch!' Temari thought 'Of course a wind based attack can't really harm her since she can disintegrate without suffering any damage. Summoning Kamatari won't help either. She would just do the same thing and she wouldn't even suffer.'

Temari didn't have the time to think any further. She heard the sound of folding paper coming from below. She swiftly jumped from branch to branch, trying to escape the paper swarm pursuing her. She suddenly remembered the battle in the grotto. She went into a couple of hand signs and dispatched a dozen clones in every direction. Last time she did that, Konan had weakened and was easier to battle.

'She won't last long like that. She will eventually come back to her solid form and then I can get her with taijutsu. If I prevent her from disintegrating again, I might just be able to capture her.'

'Damn Sand wench!' Konan thought 'She's trying to exhaust me but that won't happen. If she wants to fight hand to hand I'll just give her what she wants!'

Instead of pursuing the clones in her swarm form, Konan moulded her paper sheets into needles and darted towards each clones, making them disappear on a puff of smoke. All but one. Temari parried the needles aiming at her with her fan. Konan reassembled herself and faced the Sand kunoichi again.

"You know I'm really getting tired of you" Konan said "But I'll give you one thing, you've actually improved. You have finally come to realize you can't hurt me with your useless wind based techniques and you eventually found a strategy to have me exert some chakra. But even that won't be enough to beat me. You still have ways to go."

"Oh yeah? Well what an honour! But since you're getting so tired, I will just finish you fair and square"

"Bring it on"

Temari unfurled her fan again and lunged at her opponent **"Wind Style : Sand Storm" **Konan jumped aside and easily dodged the weak wind currents. Yet it was too dark for her to notice that the whole area was now strewn with sand.

"Don't tell me you really intended to get me with something as weak as that" she said with a mocking tone

"Don't jump to conclusions" Temari answered before coming straight at Konan again, using her fan like a club.

'Well at least she's strong enough to swing it with ease' the blue haired woman thought 'But that's not enough'

Temari alternated kicks and fan blows, sometimes using it as a shield against Konan's kicks and punches. She thought high heeled boots were really impractical in a fight, yet a kick given with such shoes hurt way more than simple sandals. Konan was actually trying to disarm Temari or to damage her fan. She remembered that, when Pein did so, she was almost helpless. But Temari finally succeeded in landing a kick in Konan's back, sending her falling down on the ground. She quickly produced a phosphorus grenade and threw it at Konan who was forced to avert her eyes in order not to be dazzled. When she was able to look again, she jumped aside just in time to avoid a crushing blow from Temari's fan. Yet, when she landed, Konan slipped on the sand strewn ground and this time couldn't evade a direct, hard kick to the stomach from the Sand nin and curled up in pain, unable to move.

"I told you not to jump to conclusions, Lady Konan" Temari told her defeated opponent "The Sand Storm technique is not an offensive attack, it's a trap and you fell for it. Indeed I can't hurt you with my wind based attacks but taijutsu is not your playfield as far as I recall and this didn't change as I can see"

"You…you… bitch!" Konan said, nursing her sore tummy

Temari swiftly tied the woman's hands and ankles with nylon thread and then put her face in hers

"You're quite lucky that the Rokudaime wants you alive you know! If it weren't for that I would've joyously turned you to minced meat just right now!" Temari said with murder in her eyes "You tried to kill me and my man last time and I did not forget this."

Konan smirked "Well you obviously forgot a way more important thing you stupid wench. "

"And what's that?"

"I don't need to use my hands to make my origami and you've gotten way too close to me"

That was when Temari saw it. And felt it. From Konan's body, a hail of long and sharp paper quills was now raining on her. It was too late to avoid it. Temari yelled and kneeled in pain. Konan disintegrated loose from the nylon threads and stood above a now helpless Temari.

"You said you wanted to turn me to minced meat, right?" she said with her usual, icy tone "Well let's apply this treatment to you" Konan took Temari's fan from its strap "Let's see just how long you can hold out before your bones start to break" she said, lifting up the fan

"And let's see just how long **you **can hold out before I choke you to death" a manly voice said behind her

Konan froze. Not out of fear, simply because she couldn't move anymore.

"What the…?" Konan said in surprise, recognizing the jutsu that once contained her from helping Pein out back in the days "Oh hell no! Not you again!"

"Well I'm afraid it's the case" Shikamaru said "And like Temari told you, you're quite lucky that your nephew wants you alive. You have no idea what I could do to you for what you've just done" His eyes had gotten even darker than they naturally were

"My nephew has always been a softie. And don't think you have won" Konan said, struggling to get free but unable to do so. His jutsu had gotten stronger, it was going to be harder to reverse it. This was when she saw Chouji and Ino looming out of the darkness "What the hell? How come you have woken up so quickly? The poison I have used should have put you to sleep for at least 24 hours!"

"Well this is what happens when you use it on normal people" Ino said with a large smile "But I happen to be a medic nin, you blue-haired freak! I have a natural resistance to poisons. When I woke up I gave my team mate an antidote of mine and we were just fine"

"Alright now" Shikamaru said "We have no time to waste. Ino you know what you have to do. Chouji knock out that whore"

"My pleasure" Chouji said, heading towards Konan

"Just **what **have you called me?" Konan said to the Smoking Genius

"Shut up!" Chouji commanded

"Are you going to hit a woman?" Konan said flatly to the towering red-clad Akimichi heir

"When that woman just tried to kill a dear friend, I don't consider her a lady anymore" With that Chouji gave Konan a very strong clout to the belly, effectively knocking her out before humping her like a sack on his shoulder

Shikamaru ended his jutsu and went to the already working Ino. The puddle of blood around Temari was giving him a cold shiver down his spine.

"Ino, is she…?"

"Fortunately, no vital organ has been touched. But she will need intensive care. The blood loss is quite massive and if she doesn't get a transfusion in the next hours, she might experience some irreparable damage. For now I just need to take out all of the paper needles and then we will be able to transport her."

"Please do." Then Shikamaru saw Chouji heading towards a nearby lake. "Chouji what are you doing?"

"I have knocked her out for now but I don't know for how much time she will stay unconscious like that. Not to mention that she said that she didn't need her hands to use her jutsu" the burly man said "But her jutsu is origami and it has one major weakness."

"I see." Shikamaru was stunned by the reasoning of his friend. Yes, the best way to constrain Konan was to get her all wet, since paper was useless when drenched But thinking that Chouji was able to figure that out on his own made Shikamaru proud. Not that he ever thought him stupid or anything. Yet it was heartwarming to see him take the initiative. Said boy went to the water's edge and unceremoniously dropped the unconscious kunoichi in the lake. The cold water woke her up.

"What the…?" Konan said. When she realized where she was, Chouji and Shikamaru took great pleasure in seeing the shocked look on her face . "Oh shit!!" Konan then turned to them, her red and black robe completely soaked "You worthless bastards! Just you…" She couldn't finish her sentence; Chouji had already grabbed her and dragged her out of the water.

"It's bed time again!" Chouji said, knocking Konan out one more time.

"I'm done" Ino said "We can head home now"

Temari opened her eyes slowly. Seeing Ino she smiled weakly

"Ino-san… You…"

"Hush" Ino said sweetly "Don't talk too much Temari. You will need all your might but knowing you this won't be a problem."

"Ko…Konan…"

"We have dealt with her don't worry" a familiar voice said behind Ino who stepped aside to let Shikamaru near his "political escort"

"Shi…Shika…" Temari said. She tried to lift her hand but she ached too much.

"I am here" Shikamaru said, holding her hand with exreme care "Everything is gonna be alright now. But don't even dare to die. I don't know what I'd do if you ever did." He knew this was practically an open declaration of love. But his heart couldn't contain the words.

Ino couldn't help but chuckle. Shikamaru's way of being romantic was really funny. The General of Konoha didn't pay his team mate any mind. There were things much more important to care about just now.

"Alright let's go back to Konoha now" Shikamaru said, takin Temari in his arms gently to carry her. From his vest, Akina suddenly came out and nuzzled against Temari who smiled at her pet

"Good job Akina" she said before falling into slumber. Shikamaru smiled and petted the little marten before putting it back in his vest

"Ino, take her fan. Chouji make sure your load doesn't wake up before you handle her to Ibiki"

"Alright" both shinbis answered

"Dammit" Ino said while taking the fan "Just how can she handle that all day long? It's so damn heavy!"

Smirking, Shikamaru leapt up to the trees, followed by his team mates. The road back will be long but as long as she was with him, it was okay. High in the sky, the stars were leading their path back home.


	8. Dangerous Information

**A/N:** Posting on the M side alway gets you less reviews, most of all when you're not quite known yet. But I decided to go on regardless. This is also why I'd like to give a special thanks to Beerbelly for their steady suport and reviewing!

* * *

_One week later, in Konoha's Hospital…_

It was slightly past 10:00 in the morning. All she could see right now was white. And then blue. The clouds in the sky, the windowsill, the green of the trees outside were slowly taking shape in her eyes. There was also another shape that was slowly forming. One she distinctively knew. A tuft of coarse hair piled in a pineapple hairdo, a green Jounin vest, a black suit, sitting in the armchair next to her bed…. He was here. And of course he was snoring with his mouth wide open! But she didn't have the strength to get angry or to hit him awake with her fan. A simple sarcasm would have to do.

"Nice tonsils you've got here!" Her voice was still husky from the sleep and the painkillers she had been given.

He slowly opened his eyes and closed his mouth before opening it again to yawn. "So you've finally awaken you troublesome woman? I was beginning to enjoy the calm you know"

"Well then it's time to get back to what you enjoy best!" Temari said with a small grin. She meant to give him one of her usual, eye-closing smile but she was still too weak.

Shikamaru came closer to her and took her hand carefully, gently pressing it.

"Temari... You really made me worry… I have nothing without you, you know that. Don't ever make me worry like that again or I'm tying you up."

"I love it when you go kinky like that!" she said playfully "Anyway, thank you"

"For what?"

"For saving my life. I don't think I would be here if you hadn't stopped her. By the way where is she?"

"We have handled her to Ibiki. She is safe in her cell in the ANBU headquarters' basement. But for now, please stop talking about bothersome things" He leaned even closer and kissed her sweetly

Just at that moment, knocking rapped at the room's door and both took instantly a non-compromising stance. At least, it looked so… didn't it? Sakura entered, a gentle smile across her face.

"So Temari-san, I see you got yourself a personal nurse!" the pink-haired medic told the frowning sand kunoichi

"I waked up only minutes ago and you're already being unpleasant Sakura-san"

"If you already use wit it means that you're feeling better! Anyway it's time for your healing session. You might be able to leave the hospital tomorrow or the day after this. Oh and by the way, your brothers should arrive today, they wanted to bring you home themselves when you're able to travel."

Temari didn't answer and smiled. Even though she was the oldest one, Gaara and Kankuro were always protective that way. The scars still hurt a bit but the pain was dimming out and she now could move without feeling uneasy. Yet she didn't understand why she still felt so weak. Both Sakura and Ino had stated that no vital organ had been touched, still her flesh wounds were deep and she had lost a lot of blood. It would take quite some time for it to replenish. Sakura was pouring healing chakra in her. After putting her hand on Temari's forehead, she moved to her stomach. This is when she noticed it. It was very faint still Tsunade had taught her how to recognize this kind of quivering that caused a steady interruption of the chakra flow on that spot inside a woman's body. At first she wasn't sure and concentrated a little bit more. Something Shikamaru didn't fail to see.

"Something wrong Sakura?"

She had to stop. She wasn't sure still. It was so faint. But she had to find out someway or another. Because…

"No, it's just there was a deeper wound located here and for a moment I thought it just had reopened" she lied "But it's alright don't worry. Like I said, our liaison should be able to leave her bed tomorrow or the day after." She sent him a sincere smile that would hopefully smoke his doubts away. It did. Or so it seemed.

"I'm very glad to hear that" the Smoking Genius said with a grin "See, you will be able to kick more ass before long!" he said to his "business partner"

"Okay then. I'll just leave you for now I must write my reports" Sakura said dismissively "Shikamaru don't stay too long, the Kazekage will arrive soon and the Sixth expects you to be present and to give a report of what happened last week"

"I know that thanks. Go before me. I'll join you there"

Sakura nodded and went out. Like almost everyone close to Shikamaru and Temari, she highly suspected that both had become an item long ago, certainly a bit after Temari saved Shikamaru from one of the Sound Four. And what she had just felt inside of Gaara's sister's tummy was further cementing her convictions about the actual nature of their relationship. But she also knew what it implied. This is why she needed to be 100 sure about it. Since she couldn't inspect Temari's innards properly anymore without raising a suspicion from either her or Shikamaru, she had to find another way. She went to her office and called the Hyuga Mansion…

* * *

"We need to talk Temari" Shikamaru said, a serious look on his face

"About what?"

"Well, you may or may not know it, but we're not fooling anyone. More and more people are aware of us. I was thinking it might be time to go official after we have dealt with Danzo and his followers" He came closer to her and caressed gently her golden strands "That would simplify a lot of things and, to be true, I'm getting tired of pretending. Too much trouble"

"I was thinking about it too" she said "Anyway I have already introduced the subject to Gaara. He said he saw no objection about me dating someone as long as it was not interfering with my job. But it won't be as simple" She turned to him, a hint of worry in her gaze "You know the rules about relationship between ninjas of different countries, don't you?"

"I read them thoroughly the other day. One of us will have to give up on being a shinobi if we want to go official except if…."

"If I'm pregnant with your child, right?"

"Precisely. In that case, we will have to quit it all the two of us, else we're as good as dead"

Both stopped talking and stared at each other for a long time.

"But still, if we quit, we will just be inactive nins, not regular villagers" Shikamaru put in

"I don't consider it an option" Temari stated in her usual no-bullshit tone "In case you hadn't noticed, I am **not **the housewife type. I didn't work all this time to become a stronger kunoichi only to spend the rest of my life at home and not seeing any other horizon than the one I would see from my kitchen's window" she said coldly.

'She will never pass over that one' Shikamaru thought 'I did kind of expect this'

But then she turned to him with a gentle smile "That doesn't mean I don't want to have your children. I just happen to believe that being a mother and being a kunoichi are not incompatible concepts"

The mental image of Tsume Inuzuka flickered through Shikamaru's mind. Yes, indeed. She was Kiba's and Hana's mother, the head of their clan, truly tough as nails and a decent active kunoichi in her own right. Yet it never prevented her from raising two healthy, gifted children.

"That's fortunate" he said "I never considered having a child with another woman" he smirked "But I might take some time out of my duties. A good father needs to be close to his children"

Temari sent him a flat look "Sure! Do that if you want me reduce you to a bloody pulp"

"Huh?"

"You only want to take some time out because you think it's too much work to handle a family and a General's duties at the same time" she said with a sharp look "I don't want some couch potato in my house. It's not a good example for the children, so don't even consider it"

"You're a real pain in the ass, you know" he muttered

"Oh yes! And you gotta love me for it!" she said smugly

Both laughed and kissed.

_In Sakura's office…_

"I wasn't expecting you Hanabi-san" Sakura said to the younger girl

"Hinata-onechan couldn't come today. She had to attend the meeting of Rokudaime-sama with the Village's Elders" the brown haired teenager demurely answered

Sakura considered Hinata's sister for a short while. Sakura wasn't close to Hanabi nor did she actually know her well, unlike her siblings. All she knew was that where Hinata was gentle and kind, where Neji was serious and solemn but well-meaning, Hanabi was aloof and coldly polite. Yet her abilities were undisputed.

"Well then, I guess you can help me still" Sakura stood up and explained the situation to the young girl

"You want me to look inside of her body, is that it?" Hanabi asked

"That's right. Can you do it?"

"I can but try."

Both girls walked out and stopped in front of Temari's door. Hanabi took on a standard chakra molding stance and started to search the room behind the wall. She saw the woman in question talking to the Nara heir. She sharpened her Byakugan and soon she could clearly make out the chakra flow in the Sand ninja's body. A bit more and she could see another chakra inside of her. The signal was mostly blurred by the stronger waves around it. Yet, by focusing on it, she finally could grasp and analyze it.

"I see a developing chakra system inside of the woman. It is a combinartion of its mother's chakra type as well as the one of the man standing next to her."

Hanabi stopped her bloodline limit and turned to the puzzled medic nin.

"It's an embryo, a very young one, no more than one week old. Temari-san is pregnant from Shikamaru-dono"

The revelation struck Sakura speechless. Hanabi stayed there, unabashed.

"We must tell Hokage-sama about this" she stated

"Certainly not! At least not now. If Naruto ever learns about this, everyone will know. He can't keep his mouth shut as well as you know. And if the word spreads, Danzo will use it as fresh dirt somehow and then Kami knows what would happen then. That's very dangerous information and we mustn't mishandle it. For now, only Temari-san and Shikamaru can know about it. Hanabi-san, please tell your sister to come over once she is done with their meeting"

"Alright" Hanabi left soon after

Sakura got back in her office. This was the worst way possible for the couple to come out. Yet, maybe this wasn't all that bad. They detected it early enough for it to go unnoticed still. But Temari had to be smart about it. Sakura thought that the presence of someone important enough – and kind enough – as Hinata would facilitate in dealing with the problem. Because the obvious decision about all this was not an easy one. But everything was up to Temari now. And Shikamaru as well.

She was so drowned in her thoughts that she didn't notice the slim and stealthy silhouette who had eavesdropped on the conversation she just had with Hinata's sister. The figure swiftly leapt to the roof and headed to the Elders' estate.

"Danzo-sama will be satisfied" he thought


	9. Act Wisely

_In the Hokage's Building, the Elder's parlor…_

"Congratulations Naruto" Homura Mitokado said in a neutral tone "Looks like you finally could eradicate the Akatsuki. Not even by yourself but in the end you finally captured their last member"

"Five years after Pein's demise… It's about time…." Koharu Uatane put in, unpleasant as always.

"What are you keeping her alive for?" Danzo asked "She has no link with the Sound Village or with any other nefarious entity. Why isn't she already scheduled for execution?"

Naruto and Hinata shared a side look and stared at the Elders, considering them. Short from some additional wrinkles and a waning physical condition, neither of them had really changed. Homura still had these glasses and his fashionable goatee, certainly the less disagreeable looking of the three. Koharu still had her brown gown, slits for eyes and her grey hair primly coiffed in a classic bun.

And then there was Danzo. Tsunade had warned Naruto about the maimed elder ever since she appointed him as her successor. She would describe the man as a covetous, bitter and incredibly violent maverick, a wannabe-warlord who already competed with Sarutobi for the title of Hokage. His outward appearance of a clever, calm and dedicated patriot was only a façade. He hated the Sandaime, just like he hated Tsunade and Minato Namikaze and, in order to increase his influence, he had developed his own independent ANBU section known as ROOT. The same organization Sai hailed from. Danzo always resented Naruto for initiating Sai in friendship and having helped him in creating bonds with his fellows.

Upon his instatement, Danzo had tried to approach Naruto in a non-aggressive way, hoping to have him accept his agenda and eventually taking over when everything was set up. Of course, Naruto refused harshly. But it took much more to deter someone as persistent as the one-eyed geezer. Still, old age was claiming him and he knew that, even if he took over, he was more than likely to die before finishing his plan. This is why he took advantage of the relative peace that followed the Akatsuki's dismantlement to build a solid base of loyal followers and to secretly appoint a successor. If only she hadn't been captured…

"I have other plans for her" Naruto answered simply "She may be useful later on. But if she proves to be of no use, I will have her executed or at least exiled"

"It's not an easy decision" Hinata said "You can't blame him for hesitating in killing his only relative"

"While we understand your concern, we would appreciate if you could come up with useful comments, Hinata" Koharu blurted in her usual, unpleasant tone

Hinata glared at the old woman. She had always disliked the Elders and the way they would always try to bring Naruto down. Deep inside, she knew that all of them were greatly afraid of him due to his tremendous power. That one thought prevented her from answering back at them.

"Koharu-sama" Naruto said "Please address my wife respectfully. You don't want me to get angry, do you?"

Koharu shuddered slightly and sent the boy a disapproving frown

"Is that some kind of threat?" Homura asked coldly

Naruto didn't answer right away and contained his anger the best he could before saying "I am sorry if you felt it as such. I never meant to threaten any of you"

"Good" Danzo answered "Now let's get to some other business" He conjured a scroll and went on "The Kazekage comes to visit us today and there is something I'd like you to introduce to him. While our country has known peace for quite some time, I do think it's time to erase all the possible menaces that might rise from our neighboring countries. We have been spying on the Land of the Rice Fields also know as the Sound Village and this illegal Village is becoming more and more subversive. Their leader, Kabuto Yakushi, has federated a lot of smaller countries around him such as the Land of Rain, the Land of Grass and the Land of Waves to name a few. He intends to create some kind of joint organization in order to counterbalance the power of greater countries. What he intends to do then is still not known but this is a threat we can't ignore and we have to act quickly. While we are allied to the Land of Wind, I do think it's time for our countries to merge into one and only nation. An army made of our two countries will be stronger and may protect us all in a way more efficient way. So here I give you this report and the terms of the treaty. I suggest you do your best to convince him Naruto. A refusal could be considered as willingness to break the alliance."

The Rokudaime's reaction was immediate.

"What are you saying, you dotard?!" Naruto stood up angrily and pointed an accusing finger at the old man "You want us to break the alliance with Suna if they refuse to merge with the Land of Fire? Are you insane? Gaara is a dear friend of mine and I know that he will come to our aid if we ever were to get attacked by any invaders, just like I would. And besides, you know what I am called right? I am the Orange Flash of Konoha and I'm considered even stronger than my father!" His eyes were turning red and slanted **"And I challenge anyone to come and try to attack Konoha while I'm in command!"**

"Naruto please calm down" Hinata stood up as well and put her soft, fresh hands on his already hot chest in a containing manner

"Overconfidence and short-temper are not what characterizes a great leader" Danzo answered in a contemptuously "I thought you would have figured that out by now. But you're just as dense as your father and just as undisciplined as your mother."

"Danzo-sama!" Hinata said with a rare firmness

Naruto was fuming but eventually managed to rein his anger in. When his eyes were back to their usual blue, he said in a dismissive tone:

"Honorable Elders, this meeting is over. Now please excuse me but I have to be there when the Kazekage arrives"

With that, the Rokudaime left, his wife in his wake.

"You were not actually expecting this to work, did you?" Homura asked his fellow mutilated elder

"Of course not. I just had to do it otherwise any action we may undertake later on would be completely unjustifiable" Danzo answered

"I assume you have something else in mind, don't you?" Koharu said

"A good strategist always prepares a back-up plan. This treaty was not even an option to begin with." The one-eyed elder said, putting the scroll back in his tunic "In fact, the only unexpected thing was the capture of Konan"

He couldn't explain any further, a ROOT agent just appeared in front of the Elders, kneeling in sign of allegiance. They were easily recognizable thanks to their all-black attire and their totally neutral expression.

"I am sorry to interrupt. Danzo-sama, we have some important information for you. Please come to the ROOT headquarters, one of our agents wants to talk to you in person"

"Alright I will come. This should better be worthy of my time." Danzo said his subordinate "Excuse me but I must go"

Danzo left the parlor and followed the black clad man.

_In the Hokage's office…_

"**Damn that fucking bastard!**" Naruto shouted out, breaking the window behind his desk with a furious punch "How dare he talk about my parents like that? When he's proven a traitor, I will carry out the punishment myself!"

"Naruto, come down!" Hinata said "This day will come soon enough. You shouldn't let him get at you so easily, that's what he wants. You overreacted once more. You shouldn't summon your Tailed Beast's power so recklessly! "

Naruto turned around and looked at his wife sheepishly

"I know" He let himself go in his armchair, a guilty and fatigued expression on his face "I just can't stand to have someone talking shit about my parents or my friends. Hinata could you come over?"

Hinata didn't answer and put her soothing palm on his feverish forehead.

"It's alright my love, it's alright."

She bent over and sweetly kissed him. Naruto eagerly took her in his arms and put her on the desk and began to untie the silken obi of her violet kimono. Hinata pushed him away gently

"Naruto! Not now and not here! Someone could come and see us!"

"I don't care! I want you **now** and if they don't like what they see they should just go away! Anyway no one enters here without knocking on the door!"

Hinata knew that Naruto wouldn't take "no" as an answer. He was too fired up to even think of stopping. And it wasn't like she didn't want him to do that anyway. He began to put his hands all over her body, not leaving out an inch of her skin and gently sucking on that special spot on her neck, making her gasp softly. He took off his white cotton vest, the same one as his father, and unzipped his Jounin vest underneath. He needed to blow away all this rage in one way or another. And a session of hot and passionate sex would do just right. He put his head between Hinata's legs and proceeded to drive her mercilessly towards ecstasy. She just couldn't stop herself either and soon he was covering her entirely and kissing her like there was no tomorrow. The spasms of their love were intensifying until both smothered their ultimate moan with a heated kiss…

"Hinata… My Hinata…" Naruto whispered in his wife's ear "Thank you for being who you are"

"Naruto you…" Hinata began before a firm knock at the door was heard

"Who is it?" Naruto asked Hinata who immediately used her Byakugan. She swiftly recognized the chakra behind the door.

"It's my sister. Quick!"

"Hold on I'm coming!" Naruto yelled towards the door

Both tried to look the most decent possible before Hinata went over to open the door.

"Hanabi-nechan" she said "Good morning!"

"Good morning, sister. Good morning Hokage-sama" The pretty teenager with cold eyes gave Naruto a proper bow

"It's kinda rare to see you coming here by yourself Hanabi-chan" Naruto said with a grin and zipping up his Jounin vest. Hanabi didn't miss that detail and also noticed the room was unusually hot for the season.

"Actually I come to see my sister, Hokage-sama" she turned to Hinata "May I talk to you in private?"

"I don't hide many things from Naruto you know"

Hanabi gave her older sister a serious look "Sister please, it's important"

Understanding the message, Hinata turned to her husband "I'll be right back!"

"Sure" he answered "Anyway Gaara should be here any minute now so you may go both of you"

Once in the corridor, Hanabi gave her sister a disapproving stare

"You were having sex on the desk, weren't you?"

Hinata couldn't repress a humongous blush

"H-H-How…I… I…"

"Don't blush. I don't blame you. I know Uzumaki-san is a pervert. He hasn't been late Lord Jiraiya's apprentice for nothing" Hanabi was always frigid that way. She wasn't really fond of her brother-in-law but yet she respected his strength and righteousness. When he wasn't treating her sister as an object of lust, that is. She and Hinata were never actually close. Unlike her older sister, Hanabi never had to prove herself to their strict father and was always given a better treatment as a result. Still, her education had given her a high sense of what is proper demeanour for a noble. Thus, knowing that Hinata was married to such a lecherous and hyperactive man was waking up a sisterly feeling in her.

Hinata for her part had straightened up and gave her younger sister a firm look "I don't think you came here to meddle with my marital life. So what's the point?"

"Haruno-san wants to see you urgently. I'll take you to her."

"What's happening?"

"She will explain. We shouldn't talk in here."

Hinata followed her sister without any further question. She knew that she wouldn't have said such a thing without a very good reason.

_In the meantime, in ROOT headquarters…_

"Are you sure of this, Amano?"

"Yes, Danzo-sama. The Younger Hyuga clearly stated that the Suna liaison was pregnant with Nara-san's child"

"Do they know it themselves?"

"They should be informed anytime soon. The Hokage's wife will soon know about this too since Haruno-san sent the Younger Hyuga to get her."

"You may go Amano" Danzo said dismissively "You did a good job. This information was unexpected but can be very useful"

Danzo asked to be left alone and ordered not to be disturbed. He always needed calm when he was devising the best way to use newfound information. As it is, it would make decent blackmail material….

_In Sakura's Office…_

"Hinata, at last!" Sakura said with relief

"What's happening Sakura? You look really hectic…" Hinata asked her friend

"I'll cut to the chase since we have only little time to act. Temari-san is pregnant." She saw the look of disbelief on the Rokudaime's wife face "Yes she is. Needless to say, the father is Shikamaru. But the embryo is just one week old. It's still soon enough to practice an abortion without any further complication. That's the best option at hand and i guess you know why. But whatever we do, we must do it before she goes back to Suna. If anyone in Suna knows about this, she's screwed and so are we"

Hinata sat down in shock. She had warned Shikamaru about all this but she had been too late. Practicing an abortion wasn't so common that it could go unnoticed, most of all on a foreigner. And to make it worse, Gaara would be here. But they had to inform both parents, first. Anyway, Temari wouldn't be leaving before the day after tomorrow.

"Okay let's go and inform Temari-san" Hinata said nervously

When they arrived in Temari's room, they found her alone. She sat up and greeted the visitors.

"Hello Hinata, Hanabi-san. How are you doing?"

"We're fine" Hinata said with a gentle smile but before long she started to play with her fingers, much like she did when she was an insecure teenager. Feeling her tension, Temari asked:

"Something wrong?"

Hinata braced herself and decided to let it all out before she would start to stutter:

"Temari-san, I have some news for you. You are pregnant."

Temari at first didn't answer. She just thought she hadn't heard correctly.

"Excuse me?"

"You are pregnant with Shikamaru's child" Hinata went on "Sakura felt it when she was healing you this morning and Hanabi confirmed it by looking inside of you."

"You were spying on us?" Temari asked, glowering

"Not exactly. We simply inspected your womb to be sure." Hanabi said

Temari turned away and looked through the window, pressing her hand at her stomach. She was anything put prepared for this. Shikamaru wasn't even here since he had to give his report to Gaara and Kankuro. She was pregnant. She didn't know whether to be happy or worried. They couldn't pretend any longer. Everyone would know in a matter of hours now. What should she do? She didn't know. It was so sudden and so unexpected that she couldn't come with any idea just right now.

"Are you sure I'm pregnant?" Temari asked with a confused look

"We can still make a regular test if you want." Sakura said

"No it's alright. I trust you are not making this all up."

"Where is Shikamaru-dono?" Hinata asked

"He is supposed to give his report about Konan's capture to Gaara today. He won't be back till later."

"Anyways, Temari-san, do you wish to keep this child?" Sakura asked

"Am I supposed to answer right away?"

"I'm afraid you have to decide quickly"

"I won't do anything behind Shikamaru's back, most of all if it concerns our child" Temari said sharply "Are you talking about having an abortion, Sakura-san?"

"I think that would be the wisest decision. But it's up to you." Sakura answered with a concerned look

"Temari-san, you do know what having a child may imply, don't you? You do know that if you wish to do so, you have to stop being a kunoichi during all the time of your pregnancy and then, since you're having it with a foreigner, you must quit your job altogether with Shikamaru? Do you really want this?" Hinata asked with as much concern.

"I don't know. No use to fire questions at me or to tell me things any good kunoichi knows about. I just need to talk with Shikamaru before we decide anything. Because it will be a joint decision and not something I plan on my own. Period."

Seeing that she wouldn't give anything more for now, all three women stopped.

"We're sorry, Temari-san" Hinata said "We didn't mean to stress you out or anything."

"I'm not offended" Temari said sweetly "I know you mean well"

"Please act wisely, Temari-san and don't hesitate to call on any one of us if you need anything." Hinata said with a warm smile

"I do appreciate this, Hinata-san. I will take all what you said into consideration"

All three went out, leaving Suna's liaison alone to ponder.

'How troublesome!' she thought before smiling at finding herself quoting Shikamaru's one liners.

But this was no time for play. She was really in deep waters right now and having an abortion was not a viable option with Gaara around. Knowing him, if he ever learned about her refusing to nurture her own child, she was in for the Sand Coffin. Even though the One-Tailed Shukaku in him was now eradicated, he still was the stoic, completely emotionless boy she used to fear so much. And he never joked about children. Moreover, abortions were a rare thing. Nothing guaranteed that no one would ever learn about it and spread the rumor. But on the other hand, if she kept it, she would loose everything she was striving for and would have to become an inactive shinobi like her lover's mother, not that she didn't respect her because of this. Still, it was a no-win situation all in all. But she refused to loose all hope just because she couldn't come up with a solution by now. She decided to take a nap and to think it over afterwards… Shikamaru's habits were rubbing off on her! Oh, how she hated this!

* * *

**A/N:** All credits due to RamaChan who inspired me the desk scene through one of her many amazing pieces of art on DeviantArt 


	10. Revelations and Blackmail

**A/N:** Sowwy for the late update!! I have been traveling this whole time so I couldn' post anything. Anyways, here comes the 10th chapter. Thanks to all the reviewers and everyone who faved my fic! You support is highly valued and appreciated.

_

* * *

_

_In the Hokage's Office…_

"What's up Shika? You're in the nick of time!" Naruto greeted his general with one of his grins

"Good Morning Shikamaru" a neutral voice said behind him

"Hello Shino. How is everything?"

"We'll need to talk later on when you're done with the Kazekage. We managed to get some information"

"Alright"

Outside, rumors and acclamations were being heard. Looking through the window, Naruto could see Gaara and his escort walking down the street to the Hokage Tower. Everyone was making way for the Desert's Lord and greeting him formally. Gaara visiting Konohagakure in person was an uncommon event indeed. Naruto let out a scream of joy and leapt out the window to meet his friend.

"Naruto don't…" Shikamaru began but it was too late

"Let him do." Shino said in his ever-unemotional tone "They haven't seen each other for a long time after all"

"Right"

Naruto jumped from roof to roof before landing right in front of the procession.

"Hey Gaara! How are you? Long time no see!"

The Kazekage recognized at once the tall blond man with the triangular white-and-red hat, the same one he was wearing with blue instead of red. Gaara had changed over the years as well. Smaller than his Land of Fire counterpart, the red haired boy was now wearing the formal white robe of the Kages instead of his high-collared dark red suit. His light blue eyes were no longer shadowed by the thick black circles that once surrounded them and his hair was longer and tied in a rat's tail. Even though the Shukaku was no longer part of him, Gaara was still an unusually strong shinobi who gave out a natural charisma that forced people into respect. His gourd was still present and was casually hanging from its strap on his back. Despite his serious expression, the Kazekage no longer displayed a menacing stare like he used to and tended to smile every now and then. And that moment was one of the rare times when he would smile.

"Good morning Naruto. I am very pleased to see you" he said before shaking hands with the Hokage.

Behind him, Naruto recognized two persons he also knew out of the six people escorting Gaara. The man behind Gaara was closer to Shikamaru and Kiba, yet he and the Hokage held each other in mutual respect. With his signature purple make up and his cat-eared hat, one could hardly mistake Sabaku No Kankuro for anybody else. Said ninja had changed his outfit as well even though it was still completely black, except for the Sabaku symbol that was printed on both his shinobi pants and his loose tank top. He now wore only one big scroll that could summon his four puppets, a bit like TenTen.

Standing next to the Kazekage, was a young woman with shoulder-length, straight hazel hair. Now wearing the customary beige vest of the Sand Jounins over a navy blue kunoichi suit with knee-high boots, Naruto was surprised to see Matsuri had advanced to the higher rank. Training under Gaara had given her a more assertive look and a stronger physical condition as could be seen by her athletic yet womanly figure. He was also surprised to see her here since, as Gaara's apprentice, she wasn't supposed to follow him in official meetings. Unless….

"Hey Kanky, Matsuri-san! I'm happy to see you could come" Naruto greeted the two ninjas

"Hey brat! You still haven't lost that cheekiness of yours!" Also one of the distinctive traits of Kankuro was his irreverence, most of all towards people younger than him

"Don't be rude Kankuro" Gaara said in a firm tone "And please behave yourself, you are not attending a party"

"I am very honored , Hokage-san" Matsuri greeted with a bow and smiled at the man Gaara admired more than anyone else.

_Meanwhile, in the Hokage's building…._

Shikamaru and Shino were tranquilly going downstairs to meet Gaara when both saw Sakura and Hinata coming to them.

"Shikamaru you need to go to the hospital and talk with Temari-san now"

"Sakura, the Kazekage has just arrived and I'm supposed to give this damn report about the blue-haired bitch. She can wait. Besides, she needs to rest"

"I'll tell Naruto that I required you for a more important thing, you can give your report later on since the Sand delegation won't be leaving before the day after tomorrow."

"What's the matter?" Konoha's general went cautious. Even if she used to be a fairly shallow girl in the past, Sakura would've never asked him to miss such an important meeting for nothing.

"We can't tell you Shikamaru-dono" Hinata replied "Let's just say you've been careless"

Shikamaru felt as if a one thousand tons anvil had jut fallen on him. No. Not **that. **Not now. The world around him seemed to disappear for a while until Shino put his hand on his shoulder.

"Go. I will do the report. I watched the events from afar thanks to my beetle when you were battling with Lady Konan."

"But Shino…"

"You can't pass this by. Your status depends on it. Neither Gaara nor Naruto will learn about it. But once you're done, come back here to see me so I can inform you about what has been said while you were away"

"Shino… thank you…"

Shikamaru darted towards the hospital and was soon out of sight.

"That's very nice of you, Shino" Hinata told the 2nd General with a grateful smile

"I don't want to loose the only man able to challenge me at strategy, Lady Hinata"

"Shino, don't call me that! We have been friends and team mates since we're 12. You don't have to refer to me by my title"

One more time, both Sakura and Hinata saw that little twitch at the corner of Shino's lips… He was so cute when he was trying to repress a smile! All three moved on to meet the Kazekage and joined Naruto in greeting him and his people.

"I'm surprised to see you here, Matsuri-san" Sakura said "It's not common for an apprentice to follow her master in a formal meeting like this one"

Matsuri blushed a bit before answering.

"Well that's because I'm no longer Lord Gaara's apprentice. I became a Jounin lately and a Jounin is normally not under the tutelage of a sensei anymore."

"In fact, Matsuri has recently become my betrothed" Gaara added "I wanted her to come and meet Hinata to see how a respectable First Lady should behave like"

The revelation didn't surprise anybody. Ever since she had chosen Gaara to be her sensei, Matsuri and the boy with the tattooed forehead had quickly developed a special bound. From then on, it took only a step for them to become more than friends. This was just an official confirmation. Still, Hinata felt flattered to be regarded so highly by foreigners.

"That's a great honor, Gaara-san. I promise I will do my best to live up to my reputation"

"I am sure you will, Hinata-san" Gaara answered

Soon after, the small group headed in the Hokage's building . It was time for business. All entered Naruto's parlor. The meeting could start.

"Where's Shikamaru?" Naruto asked with a frown "I told him to be here on time!"

"Shikamaru-dono won't be able to make it, honey. He was required in the ANBU headquarters for some very important business. He might come still." Hinata felt guilty to lie like this but she had no choice.

"I have been watching the battle with the last Akatsuki member and her abduction with my scout bug." Shino said "I will do the report myself'

"He'd better have some damn good reason not to be present!" the Rokudaime was definitely not happy

"Trust me, dear. It's a really good reason" Hinata clasped her hand at her mouth but Naruto only looked at her before ordering:

"Alright then. Sakura you may start"

"Well, as you may know, Temari-san is safe and sound yet she didn't escape unscathed from her fight with Konan. She got badly injured and the hemorrhage was somewhat massive. Yet, we could operate a transfusion soon enough. So she's basically fine for the time being yet she needs one or two more days of rest"

"Good"

Gaara, Kankuro and Matsuri looked relieved. Gaara sent the pink-haired woman a sincere smile.

"As I can see, your skills as a medic have significantly improved, Sakura-san. It's the second time that you have to take care of one of our family and, in the name of the Sabaku clan, I would like to give our sincere thanks and appreciation"

"I accept them with joy, Kazekage-sama" Sakura said with a bow

"Shino, your turn" Naruto said to the 2nd General

_Konoha's Hospital, Temari's room…_

She was sleeping. The graceful arch of her body was underlined by the white sheets. Even in a shapeless gown he found her beautiful. And she was pregnant with his child. Or so he assumed since Hinata had said he's been careless. He really wanted to lie next to her and feel her against him, her warmth, her perfume… But now was really not the time.

"I didn't know you were the lazy type, woman" Shikamaru uttered clearly to wake her up

The blonde kunoichi groaned and opened her eyes. He was here. A lazy knight in a plain armour and a ridiculous pineapple hairdo. Also the man she loved more than anything, the one whose child she was bearing. She had dared to fall in love with him and that one fact had possibly sealed their fate. But she didn't care. As long as she was with him, it would be okay. Everything would be okay.

"Shut up, pineapple head!"

"Don't call me that! You know I hate this!" he answered while passing a hand in his hair

"Then just wear your hair down. At least you might look like something else than a younger version of your father."

"That means you find me handsome, don't it?" he said with a smirk

"Yeah, right!" She was happy to see him again and would have loved to play with him a little more but unfortunately they had no time to waste "I suppose you know about this" she said pressing her hand at her belly again

"Yes…"

"What do you think?"

He didn't answer and simply wrapped himself gently around her. Actually both couldn't express how they felt. The comfort of their mutual tenderness was all what they needed now. But before long, Shikamaru broke the silence.

"Do you want to keep it?"

"I don't know. It's really not time for this to happen but I am really not sure about an abortion."

"Gaara, right?"

"Not only him. It's me. It's you. It's everything it could imply! I mean, what are we supposed to do? If I get an abortion and words get around, Gaara will kill me with no more thought than he would kill an enemy. He will never forgive me and you might just join me in death soon after for the same reason. Children are something he never jokes about. Bad parents are criminals in his eyes, even though I legally have the right to choose whether or not I want to keep our child."

"Not unexpected at all from his part. But if you want to keep it I can still ask my parents to take care of it."

She suddenly turned to him, glaring.

"If I have a baby, Shikamaru, it's not to have my mother-in-law looking after it. A kunoichi is also a woman and being a woman includes being a mother. Just like being a man includes being a father!"

"I understand this. I was just offering to facilitate. So it means you want to keep it?"

She looked utterly miserable.

"What about you? If we keep it you will loose your position! Will your parents accept this?"

"I would love to keep it but if we do, we'll have to consider another line of work unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Be quiet for a while"

Shikamaru took a Zen-like posture and annealed his fingers together in that familiar sign he would use to come with a solution to a complicated problem. But he couldn't think any further. Someone had entered Temari's room. Someone neither of them wanted to see.

"Am I interrupting some forbidden love talk?"

Both looked in the direction of the speaker. The second he saw him, Shikamaru knew he also had learned about them and that he also had learned about their secret. In short, they were done for.

"Danzo-sama…" the lazy ninja greeted sullenly

"No need to answer rhetorical questions, General Shikamaru. And don't take that defensive look, Temari-kun. I don't come here to fight."

"Don't think you can order me around Danzo!" Temari answered right back

"General Shikamaru, tell your foreign lady to watch her mouth"

"Talk to me directly if you have anything to say, geezer! I am not some…" Shikamaru had just sent her a look of authority, the same he gave her before they left his home last week. She muttered words of agreement before proceeding to rein her wrath in.

"What do you want, Danzo-sama?"

"Well, that's not quite proper for a general to address to an Elder but I'll cut to the chase: I know about you and that Sand envoy, Shikamaru. Impregnating a foreign Kage's relative is one of the most careless moves a shinobi could do, most of all a Jounin. You may not care about it but you will know the consequences soon enough."

"Is that a threat?"

"No. I am just simply stating the plain truth. Any good shinobi knows about relationship with foreigners. Maybe if you had been listening instead of sleeping the whole time back in your academy days you would have known about said rules."

"I know about them."

"Then I guess you are not as smart as you pretend to be."

"Whatever." Shikamaru was feeling his own temper rising now. Having someone setting off his anger (with the exception of Temari, Ino and his mother) was rare enough for him to get really mad. "What's the point? What did you come here for?"

"Well I guess no one can know about your paramour's pregnancy. But before long, she won't be able to hide it any longer. And as you already said, abortion is not an option. So I guess you have to carry out this child, Temari-kun. Still, maybe I can help you in keeping your status and even access to a higher position if you desire so."

'_I knew it' _Shikamaru thought _'The bastard came to blackmail us. We are fucked'_

He and Temari exchanged knowing glances before facing the maimed elder again.

"And the deal is?" the blonde kunoichi asked through gritted teeth

"If you accept to help me in deposing the current Hokage and in merging Sunagakure with Konohagakure, we will make sure no one knows about your child. We will make Temari-kun vanish and not come back until she has delivered. You Shikamaru will be able to take the lead of Konoha's armies under my command and when we succeed in "pacifying" our neighbors, you might be given the right to get away with your family or to access to the High Council, this left to your choice. As for your child, we will ensure their security until they are old enough to take care of themselves and make sure that anyone that knows about it will keep their mouth shut."

"And if we don't agree?"

Danzo sent the woman a smirk dripping with evil "Getting a hysterectomy was the way for ancient kunoichis to deal with unwanted pregnancy. Tsunade knows about it more than I… And miscarriages are more likely to happen for a kunoichi than any other woman. Not to mention that some miscarriages are so severe they can lead to the aforementioned treatment. Such a thing can go public very easily. It often takes no more for a ninja to go missing if it is proven that the child was sired by a foreign ninja, Temari-kun"

Both were struck speechless. Indeed, they were screwed for good.

"You don't need to give me an answer right away. But you'd better give it before Suna's liaison journeys back to her homeland."

"What do you plan to do with Naruto and Gaara?" Shikamaru asked

"If they accept to step down and exile themselves in a place that is remote enough and never return, then I shall not chase after them nor shall I kill them. But that is up to your own persuasion skills, both of you. Now, if you'll excuse me, your brothers have just entered the building so I should be on my way. Think about it thoroughly."

In her peripheral vision field, Temari noticed the dark silhouettes jumping away. ROOT agents. They must have been watching out for their master. Neither she nor Shikamaru uttered a word to break the heavy silence that had just fallen on them. It took Gaara, Kankuro and Matsuri entering the room to snap them out of their daze.

"Good afternoon Temari, Nara-san." Gaara greeted primly

"Hey stag! What's up?" Kankuro said before clouting amicably Shikamaru in the back, demonstrative and brutishly friendly as always…

"Enough Kankuro! I told you to behave!" Gaara said in his deep voice "You're not 16 anymore!"

"Hey what's wrong? Can't I just greet an old pal?"

"It's fine, Gaa…uh…Kazekage-san. I don't mind this kind of demonstration." Shikamaru said rubbing his smarting back with the back of his hand.

"What are you doing here, Nara-san? I thought you were appointed by ANBU." Gaara asked

"Er…Well… yes!" he stumbled "I just wanted to drop by to see Temari and see if she was getting better."

"How considerate" The Kazekage's tone was neutral yet a hint of suspiciousness was gleaming in his sky-blue eye "How are you doing Temari?"

"Mostly good. I feel a bit tired now and then but I should be fine to travel back with you all. Matsuri, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine Temari. I'm just happy to see you alive. I'm really impressed you could take on someone as powerful as an Akatsuki member."

"Yeah! She got bitch-slapped still!" Kankuro blurted before laughing heartily "**Ow!** What was that for?" he asked rubbing the back of his head

"Obvious reasons, Kanky darling." his gentle sister answered, putting her fan back on the floor

"Don't call me that!" he was blushing and glaring like crazy "Not in public!"

"Why? Red is just your colour!"

Shikamaru smirked. Seeing Temari's family getting together was always heartwarming and fun. It made him forget about his misery for a little while.

"By the way, Nara-san, I wanted to thank you for rescuing our sister. Once more, we owe you."

"You owe me nothing, Kazekage-san. It's part of my mission"

"Call me Gaara, Nara-san. I consider you closer to us than anyone else in this village, except for Naruto himself."

"That's an honour, Gaara. I would love to stay with you a bit longer but I do have to meet the Hokage and my comrades today so I'll catch up with you later"

"Shikamaru, before you leave, one last thing" Temari said

"Yes?"

"Come closer"

Shikamaru complied, knowing what she had in mind. He also thought it was time to convey the truth of their relationship to her relatives and that it was better that if they learnt it from them than anyone else. Slowly, Temari cupped his face with her hands and put her lips on his. No one spoke until she stopped. She turned to her brothers and Matsuri.

"This is the man I have chosen to be with"

No reply.

"I don't ask for your validation. I'm just informing you. Shikamaru and I have been dating ever since you appointed me as Suna's ambassador, Gaara. I know the rules about relationship with foreigners but before we decide anything about coming out to public knowledge, I wanted you to know about this."

Shikamaru was stunned at Temari's boldness. It's not like she never talked that way, it was just that he didn't expect her challenging her own brother for his sake. He felt really lucky now.

"You're not informing anyone, Temari." Gaara spoke up "I always knew Nara-san had strong feelings for you and that said feelings were returned. You may have tried to hide it but eyes don't lie." He stopped giving a quick glance at the now scarlet Kankuro who was waiting for his brother to finish. "But I don't see any problems about you dating each other as long as you keep it secret as you already should. I won't prevent you from loving the man you have chosen to love, whoever he may be. And one last thing, Shikamaru, I trust you understand that hurting my sister's feelings would be a **really **stupid move. I know you are a good man and a very capable shinobi but you must know this before going any further with my sister. I believe I have made myself clear."

"You did" Shikamaru didn't know whether he had to jump for joy to see Gaara giving his blessing or if he should get wary for having clearly given him a threat. He also noticed that Gaara had just called him by his first name for the first time.

"Oh yeah?" Kankuro asked with a barely restrained anger "I thought we were buddies, stag! And this is what you do: you fuck my sister! Okay from now on you…"

"You shut up Kankuro or I smash your teeth with my fan!" Temari commanded "You go around and date every skank in Suna and I can't even date a decent guy from another village?"

"Come on, Temari! You want some lazy-ass motherfucker as a husband? When have you gotten so lax about your so-called high standards?"

"While I find all this very amusing" Shikamaru put in timidly "I really need to leave right now…"

"Go, then. And take care." Gaara said dismissively

"Thanks for your magnanimity, Gaara. I sincerely appreciate it."

With that, Shikamaru vanished, leaving Temari to explain herself with a fuming Kankuro and an enthusiastic Matsuri. On the way to the Hokage's building, he was pondering about all what had just happened. Maybe Shino would come with interesting information. He had to see him anyway and then it would be time to act. Quickly and efficiently.

_In the Hokage's Office, early afternoon…_

"Shikamaru you have exactly 10 seconds to explain as for why you missed this noon's meeting." The Rokudaime ordered

"He had to an ANBU report for me" Shino answered in his fellow's stead

"This doesn't explain what took him so long"

"I met Gaara on the way" the Smoking Genius answered lazily

"Good. And then?"

"Well…"

"Naruto, if you don't mind, we'll leave your impressive display of leadership for later" Shino interrupted "I have very important information to share with you"

"Shino…you…" Naruto hated when the Aburame heir had the nerve to put him in his place.

"Honey, let it lie. We have to hear this report before anything else." If Hinata stood by Shino, then no use in fighting.Naruto gave in.

"Okay, okay. Give us your report Shino."

"Well, as you may not know yet Shikamaru, the Sand Daimyo's attempt on Gaara's life has been dodged by Matsuri. She captured him but he eventually committed suicide in his cell. Thus e couldn't get any information from him. Still, Sai and his ANBU section have been spying on ROOT ever since Naruto ordered them to dismantle Danzo's organization. We finally could come up with some useful information says that Konan was actually supposed to take Danzo's succession if he ever were to die before he could carry out his plans. Konan's role in the Bijuu's extraction has also been confirmed and she also confessed that she knew the location of at least 3 other tailed beasts. Sai has eliminated every ROOT operative in his ANBU section and made them disappear." He stopped and took a deep breath before taking off his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose… Of everyone present, Hinata was the only one to have ever seen his sharp, jet black eyes. All the others took advantage of this exceptional instant to take a mental photo of Shino's face without the glasses. "But none of the ROOT agent we managed to capture ever revealed anything actually incriminating. Konan carrying out Danzo's plans… There is no factual proof about this. Konan didn't say this or that she kept in touch with Danzo herself so we can't take this as a voluntary confession. Obviously, Konan has some link with ROOT but we can't prove it unless she confesses openly. Moreover, most ROOT agents we disposed off didn't even seem to know about her as was proved with the mind scan Inoichi Yamanaka performed on them. Her link with Danzo is secret even to the most part of ROOT itself. In any other case, strong suspicions would have done, but we're taking on an Elder. That is the problem. Inoichi-san tried to scan her mind but she expelled him as soon as he possessed her. She has tremendous psychic barriers. Pein's work, no doubt about it but we have no idea of the technique he used to mind-lock his lover. You tried to talk to her didn't you Naruto?"

"Yes"

"And how did it go?" Shikamaru asked

"Er… Well…"

_

* * *

_

_Earlier that week, in the ANBU headquarters__' basement…_

It was very damp and dark. Her stomach ached like hell. The oversized brute hadn't gone easy on her and she had been similarly manhandled when they jailed her in the women's quarter, in the basement of ANBU. A rough-looking and rough-voiced female ninja had searched her and stripped her from her Akatsuki robe after splashing her all over with cold water. She had remained there for quite some time, only seeing the bars of her cell illuminated by the dull light of the guardians' office. The constant moisture kept her garments wet, making it impossible for her to use her techniques. At least they didn't shackle her, but in that state, she was just unable to act. She knew that he would come to visit her. She tried to enjoy what little time she had before he would. And that time came way too quickly.

She heard her cell opening up and saw three shapes forming against the light before she could actually see their faces. But she didn't actually need to see them to know who it was at the center, with the spiky hair and the mandatory white robe. The Rokudaime Hokage himself had personally come to talk to her.

"Good Morning, aunt Konan" he said "I'm glad to see you again"

She glowered at him "Don't you call me that! I don't allow you to!"

"Unfortunately, you are in no position to command anything, auntie dearest" he declared with a large grin "So for now, I recommend you shut up and listen to me else we'll have to do it the hard way"

Konan didn't answer and looked away, leaning against the slippery wall.

"Leave us for a while, will you?" Naruto ordered his subordinates, seeing this move as a silent agreement.

"Hokage-sama, are you sure?" the one with the long blond hair asked.

"I will call on you if I need to. Right now I'd like to talk to her face to face"

"Alright" both shinobi answered uneasily before heading out.

When they were gone, Konan spoke up

"What do you want?"

"I'll cut to the chase. I know you are involved in some dirty business with Danzo and I know that you want to extract my Bijuu to use it in your twisted schemes although I can't prove it yet. You already know what awaits you I guess. Still, if we come to an understanding, you just might escape the death sentence. How about we make a deal?"

"No interest"

Naruto didn't hesitate and slapped her across the face

"HEAR IT BEFORE YOU CALL IT SHIT"

Konan rubbed her cheek and glared at him "Do you really think I will **ever **accept to bargain with you? Is that what you think? I'd rather be left to die in a pit filled with rabid rats!"

"Stop being such a drama queen!"

"Whatever it is you can just shove it right up your…"

Another slap interrupted her.

"You gutless bully! Hitting me like this while I can't defend myself! And you call yourself family!"

"Oh no, you don't get me started on that one! Where were you all this time when **I** needed a family? I know you came here after I was born and you were offered to take care of me. But you did not! You ran away and left me alone, that's what you did!"

Konan remained silent for a short while before spitting in the Hokage's face.

"You shit! How was I supposed to take care of you? My sister had died at the hands of your fucking father and you looked just like him! He was a boisterous scumbag like you and you want **me** to take care of his offspring for whom he had Kushina killed with that damn sealing jutsu? I already had somebody else to take care of, I couldn't take you with me anyways."

"Stop trying to justify your selfish ways, aunt Konan. Obviously you can't." Naruto stated calmly as he wiped his face.

Konan eyed him with rage but didn't answer.

"So now listen to my offer: if you accept to cooperate, I will make sure you can escape the death sentence. You will be able to live freely in the inbounds of the Village and will be able to take on a new life. Maybe then we could even start to have a true family-like relationship. What do you think?"

* * *

"And what did she answer?" Shikamaru inquired, already knowing the answer

"She told me to fuck off. She truly hates me." Desperation was now clouding his usually cheerful visage. Hinata glanced at the two generals and shook her head. This silent order meant not to be too harsh on him.

"You have to understand how she feels, dear. You killed her man and she doesn't even have her sister to turn to. She feels just as lonely as you felt back then."

"But how could she fall in love with such a bastard?"

"Even the toughest man is tender to the woman he loves, Naruto. And, whatever Pein might have been, she has known him in a way no one else ever did." Shino always knew when to come with helpful one-liners.

Without any further notice, Shikamaru took his Zen-like position on the Hokage's desk and annealed his finger together again.

"Shikamaru, what are you…"

"Don't interrupt me!" he barked. Temari's nasty temper also rubbed off on him from time to time

Konan…Danzo…Temari…Root…Pregnancy…Diplomatic Relations…Evidence…Elders…Gaara…Forbidden Techniques…

Every single word ran through his mind as he was devising a solution to all his problems. He searched his mind out and found that the obvious and sole way to make Danzo fall was to prompt Konan in giving away all the necessary information and physical proof. There was a way to do it but… Not to mention Danzo could get back at him by killing his unborn kid and maybe even Temari herself… But any other option they may have had was now gone. They hade to go for broke.

"I'd like to talk to your aunt, Naruto" the lazy Jounin said


	11. Never Forget This

_ANBU's headquarters, Basement, Women's quarter, late afternoon…_

Konan sneezed. She still hadn't been given any clean clothes since they locked her up. With the constant dampness of her cell, it was no wonder that she had caught a cold. The wire netted door opened. The rugged woman that had handled her when she arrived was here again. Her red-tattooed face, her crazy, spiky hair and her deep, broken voice gave Tsume Inuzuka the fiercest looks among all of Konoha's kunoichis.

"Stand up, bitch! Get off your ass and come over! You've just been granted the right to take a shower."

"Go away, dyke."

"What was that?" Kiba's mother voice had dangerously risen

"You heard me. I can't help it if you look like a butch lesbian, lady…."

Tsume went over to Konan and firmly grabbed her by the hair, making her stand up in the bargain.

"I'd watch my mouth if I were you, woman! A traitoress is walking dead meat. Never forget this."

Tsume held Konan's arm behind her back, forcing her to walk forward.

"Damn! You reek as bad as a used tampon! Are you on your period or something?" she asked mockingly to the prisoner.

Konan glowered and uttered more insulting words about Tsume's mannish appearance. They arrived in the shower. Konan undressed and put herself under the hot water spray, rubbing her creamy, delicate skin with a soap lump.

"Who allowed this?" she asked her jailer who hadn't stepped out

"Someone important wants to see you today"

The blue-haired woman's face took back this familiar ice cold expression "My nephew again?"

"No"

"Then who?"

"You'll know soon enough. Now hurry up and put those clothes on" Tsume said as she handed her a pile of clean garments

Konan dried up and dressed. She thought it might be time to try a surprise evasion but the woman splashed her with water again.

"Just in case you have funny ideas" Kiba's mother said with a smirk

Konan remained impassive and went back to her cell. Who would like to see her? Danzo? No, it would just incriminate him. An ANBU rep maybe… But it didn't take long before she saw him entering her cell. Out of all people, he was the one she expected the least to visit her. The pineapple haired bastard himself! He was accompanied by a taller, dark haired, neutral-faced man with sunglasses. She didn't greet them. It wasn't a courtesy visit.

"What do you want?"

"I came to negotiate. No need to get defensive." Shikamaru said

"My answer is no."

"And my deal is if you help us, you might have a chance to be happy again and that's not an empty promise. Come with us and you will know what I am talking about."

"Go away."

"You're mistaken. I am not making a request."

The man with the sunglasses went to her and grabbed her the same way Tsume did earlier while Shikamaru blindfolded her.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

"Be quiet and do as we say. We won't harm you, at least not know" the man behind her said.

She had no choice. She let them lead her to another part of the basement, at least so it seemed to her.

_Earlier this afternoon…_

"What do you want to do with her?" the Hokage asked "How could she possibly listen to you when she told me to take a hike?"

"Your offer was too mild, Naruto. You want her to forgive you right?"

"Yes."

"Then you have to get serious and offer something that could actually prompt her into considering it."

"And what do you suggest, Mr Smartass?"

Shikamaru scowled at that crack but made his suggestion all the same.

"You're joking."

"I'm not"

".way."

"Now **that **is stupid. I don't even get why you haven't proposed this in the first place."

"Shikamaru's right" Shino intervened "You can't get your aunt to listen if you come to her with half-hearted offers. That was the first thing you should have told her about."

"Honey, do you hear that?" the Orange Flash asked Hinata who was carefully keeping mum "Those two are asking me to open the Gates of Hell! You know we can't ensure anything if we do this! It's asking for unnecessary, hazardous and hardly controllable trouble."

"We know that. But as it is, we don't have any other options. If you want to take Danzo down, you have to get Konan into cooperating. Give her the real thing and she will be proven wrong about you. Then you can negotiate with her on a serious scale."

Naruto pouted and then tried to ponder. That was no easy decision. Of course he had thought of this at once when Konan was brought into custody. But could he possibly jeopardize Konohagakure for the sake of his only family tie? There was a time when he would do anything for anyone close to him, even for that bastard of Sasuke. But now that he was in charge, everything was different… He went to gaze through the window and let his mind wander for a while. Contemplating the village he always wanted to protect, he wondered if it was worth it. The sun was declining a bit but it was still a bright spring day with a lush of blossoming trees. The wind blew gently and caressed the smooth tiles of the roofs. Without warning, the film of Naruto's memories rewound and settled on that day… The day he finally caught up with Sasuke… The day he knew what that wrinkled douche of Danzo meant when he said that bounds only bring pain and hate. Admitting, the old fossil was right was hard enough for the Rokudaime to clench his fists.

"Shit!" he let out

_Five years ago, the Akatsuki's hideout…_

"Stupid kid!" Tobi said "You know not what you're doing! You may have defeated your brother; you are still no match for me."

"We'll see about that!" the youth said defiantly. The Chidori was shrieking in his hand, his membranous wings were spanned to their maximum, his red eyes glowed with hatred and his now long bluish grey hair flowed in the unhealthy wind that surrounded him.

"Sasuke!!!" Naruto screamed "You can't do this on your own! Let us help you!" He tried to break free, but the hold of Juugo was too much even for him.

"Shut up, moron! This is my fight! I will deal with you right after!" the demonic faced Uchiha shouted.

Behind a menacing Tobi, a weakened Konan was watching. Hadn't the Uchiha kid busted in when her master was about to snap her neck, she'd be dead right now. Taking advantage of the confusion, the blue haired woman discreetly crawled towards a hidden exit.

"The woman is getting away!" Karin shouted, feeling Konan's chakra disappear. Suigetsu was keeping Sai and Yamato in check. Kakashi lay on the ground at Juugo's feet, knocked out by a powerful blow at the temple. And Sakura was restrained by the dagger Karin held at her throat.

Tobi turned around and removed his mask.

"**Fire Style: Fire ****Breath"**

A large fire cone aimed at Konan and set her on fire. But instead of screaming in agony, the paper duplicate was simply turned to cinders in a heartbeat. Konan had gotten away. Tobi turned back towards Sasuke and prepared to receive the Uchiha heir's attack. This is when they saw his face for the first time. All the Konohans present, were too dumbfounded to even think of interloping. Seeing Obito Uchiha had totally stunned them shitless.

"You think no one can defeat an Uchiha, child? Well you're about right, except for another Uchiha!"

"Shut up and die!" Sasuke said before lunging at his opponent, drawing out his katana. Tobi didn't even move and got slashed across the torso only to laugh heartily. Taking a chakra moulding stance, Obito launched his own Mangekyo Sharingan but Sasuke could easily break through it. The Chidori scorched a huge hole through Tobi's body while Sasuke attacked him mentally through his eye-technique for him not to regenerate from the attack. Tobi grinned.

"Child, you just blew up your last chance to survive. And if I die from this, you will follow me soon after."

Sasuke didn't answer and brutally removed his arm from his uncle's chest, provoking an unsightly blood geyser. Tobi fell back and didn't move anymore. And this is when Sasuke felt it. An exponentially growing pain was extending from his neck as a familiar voice resonated in his head.

'_Sasuke-kun, the cursed seal I gave you has a major side effect. For each and every time you use the Level 2 of the seal, you destroy more and more cells in you body. Use it too much in a single battle and your entrails will be reduced to mash. The internal damage is irreversible. Never forget this."_

Orochimaru's words resonated again and again as the world around him began to vacillate and shiver. The taste of iron was now invading his mouth and his heart was aching like hell. He gave in to the ground. This battle had used up to much and he was now paying the price. All of a sudden, a pair of arms embraced him. Naruto was holding him.

"Sasuke, look at yourself! You pushed yourself too far."

"Hold him Naruto I will heal him"

"It's too late Sakura" the Uchiha boy said to the medic as he was slowly taking back his true form "I am dying"

"Sasuke…" Kakashi had woken up and was looking in on his former student

"Kakashi-sensei… You were right… Nothing remains once vengeance is done… I feel so… empty inside…"

"Sasuke-kun, hang in there! You're not going to die!" a teary eyed Sakura said, already realizing the cold hard truth "Please stay with us! Don't leave us, don't leave me!"

The dark haired boy's team mates soon joined in and also gathered around their dying leader, not saying a word.

"Naruto… Please, fulfill your dreams. At least yours weren't foolish. I did everything for my vengeance but I don't get to enjoy it… I've been stupid enough to think I could get away with all this… I was sorely mistaken….Thank you… for having been… my only…friends…all of you…" Sasuke let out his last breath and eventually died.

That was when Juugo threw one of his random tantrums and transformed into a gruesome, out-of-control monster. Naruto remembered the horrible feel of Juugo's blood on him… How he impaled him with his Rasengan… The fates of Suigetsu and Karin… The red haired girl with glasses who had boasted about having slept many times with Sasuke and now bearing his child… The fearsome rage of Sakura upon hearing Karin got where _she_ never could… How his pink haired friend virtually tore the girl to shreds… Naruto also saw how Sai dealt with Suigetsu as he claimed to finish Sasuke's task and kill Naruto… How Sai pushed him in that pool of melted steel, causing Suigetsu to literally evaporate…

He wanted to rescue his dearest friend, he eventually did. But he had been too late. Nevertheless, he did bring back Sasuke's corpse to Konoha – or rather what was left of it – where he was incinerated. The Uchiha clan was no more. 3 years later, Naruto was officially installed as Konoha's 6th Hokage, just like Tsunade had wished upon retiring. After the destruction of Konoha at the hands of Pein, she had overexerted her powers. And, despite her superhuman resistance to physical harm, it took her considerable time to rejuvenate. And even then, she felt that time would catch up to her soon, the unfortunate side effect of her powers. Thus, the 5th Hokage left Konoha for good this time, entrusting the village to her protégé.

And now, Naruto was at last reunited with the last person he considered family, save from Umino Iruka. The only person he could**possibly** save. But she didn't want him.

'What was I thinking?' the Hokage thought 'After all, she saw me kill Pein and I'm expecting her to do as if everything was fine… But I give her that, the consequences might be even worse than the current situation…'

"Do what you deem the best" Naruto said without turning to his comrades

"Naruto…"

"But I demand to be present when you show it to her."

"I won't forget" Shikamaru answered "Let's go, Shino. It's time."

Naruto waited for his generals to leave and then punched another window broken. Hinata darted to his side.

"Dear, calm down! You know there was no other valid choice"

Naruto didn't answer and hugged Hinata tight.

"Hinata, if I ever did a mistake, would you still love me?"

"Of course I would! What a question!"

"No I mean, if I made a really big mistake…"

"Naruto, I told you before. What I like about you is you're never giving up, even when you make mistakes. And that, in my eyes, is true strength."

Naruto kissed her passionately. She was the one he could rely on whenever he felt weak. At that moment, he thought himself the luckiest man on Earth.

_Outside, near the ANBU headquarters…_

"Rare of you not to be accompanied by Chouji, Shikamaru" Shino said

"Chouiji and Ino are on their "cleaning" mission with Sai. We still need information about ROOT's ramifications and Danzo's schemes."

"By the way, I didn't say everything back then. There is something I think we shouldn't bring up until it is absolutely confirmed."

"What is it?"

Shino confessed what he had learnt from Sai himself. Shikamaru felt as if he received another 100 tons anvil on him.

"This can't be… It was all for nothing, then."

"Not really. At least, _he_ is now much less powerful as _he _used to be. But then again, this is unverified. This is why we need to have more news from your team mates as well as from Kakashi and his team once they're back from Otogakure."

"Right" Shikamaru inhibited the information he just heard to focus on the present problem.

_Somewhere __below the ground floor of ANBU's headquarters…_

They had been walking like that for quite some time. She had no idea where they were leading her. It was clammy in there. She had heard several doors unlocking and none of her guardians exchanged a single word during all the time they walked. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice. One she really didn't want to hear.

"So you finally got her to cooperate as I can see."

"Well since she wouldn't actually cooperate, we just forced her." Shikamaru answered.

"What are **you** doing here? I told you I don't want to speak to you!" Konan inquired angrily as they took off the cloth that covered her eyes.

"And I told you that you are in no position to command anything, aunt Konan. And considering your situation, consider this treatment as an unusually great favor."

He looked nervous and ill-at-ease. 'What is he up to?' she thought

"Shikamaru, Shino, are you sure of what you're doing?" Naruto asked

"We have kept _him _in herefor many purposes. Even ones we didn't know about before we captured Konan" Shino answered

"Yes and anyway, we can't leave _him _here forever." Shikamaru added

They were in one of these chambers that were carefully kept secret from public knowledge. One of these rooms of ANBU's basement where only a few people were allowed. That one was somber and eerily silent, covered with dark green tiling. A small team of medic-nins was there and keeping a rack of tubes, very similar to the ones Pein used to store his 6 bodies. Inside, she could make out the bodies of various people. Certainly a way of conserving dead bodies or anything such…

"What have you led me here for?" she asked, not liking this situation which made no sense to her whatsoever. Naruto turned to her and looked unusually serious. He didn't answer and simply switched on the light of one of the tubes, where she could make out the shape of a man.

"Come here, aunt Konan. _Pein_ is waiting for you."

At the mention of her lover's name, Konan shivered. No. Not possible. He… He's couldn't possibly…She slowly made her way toward the strange capsule. There he was, completely naked and in a perfect state of conservation. An electrocardiogram signaled he was still alive. She fell to her knees and crept towards the man-sized tube. He was there and alive.

"You…you…how?... It's impossible! It can't be! I saw him die! Die in my arms at your hands! I'm sure you just cast some genjutsu on me or something like that!"

"You don't believe it, Konan? Then dispel it. No one will stop you." Shikamaru said.

Konan took a standard chakra moulding stance "Kai!" she shouted

Nothing happened. It was no genjutsu. It was reality. Konan was here completely dumbfounded. Tears were coming at her eyes. She did nothing to stop them from falling. She didn't care. It was too much for her to take. She cried for a while before being able to say something without sobbing. She turned to her nephew, glaring.

"How dare you play with my hurt like that? Pein is **dead! **I saw him die, I felt him all cold and dead in my arms when I buried him! This is just a fucking lie! It's not even Nagato's body, it's Pein's first body! Are you going to tell me you raised him from the dead or something like that? He had a huge hole in him! Where is it?" she thundered

"We followed you when you went to burry him. We have searched your hideout and found out the body of Nagato. Have you ever opened up the tube where he laid, lady Konan?" Shino asked

"No. He always forbade me to do this. Why?"

"Because said body had died a long time ago. The tube was hermetic and thus protected it from rotting up too quickly yet it was decayed."

Konan twitched and stared at the dark-haired man for a while. Nagato had died a long time ago then… But that was not the point.

"It doesn't explain anything." She said in her icy tone

"Actually, we wanted to learn more about Pein's bloodline limit and we unearthed his corpse when you left. When Lady Tsunade put some chakra in his body to analyze said bloodline, she noticed that his corpse was regenerating. She has ordered Shizune and her medical subordinates to heal him as if he were still alive. And Pein woke up. He was seriously weakened but he did wake up although unable to fight. Thus we have put him here in a state akin to hibernation. The Rinnegan has been analyzed and we found out its powers also allowed a state of clinical death without the owner actually dying if they are cured soon enough. You should be aware of this since Pein killed all the shinobis whose bodies he possessed. Still we couldn't afford to have him here alive without restraining him efficiently. Hence, we eventually created a seal that has nullified the Rinnegan in him. Hatake Kakashi-san has painted all the runes you see here." Shino explained

In her confusion, she hadn't exactly paid attention to it. His body was tattooed with a set of intricate runes and signs that ran from his shoulder blades down to his thighs.

"So it means… he's no longer able to use his chakra right?"

"Precisely. His bloodline limit is constrained as long as this seal is on him." Naruto put in.

Suddenly, a feeble moan was heard. All three turned to the tube and saw Pein eyes flutter open. Konan approached the tube and looked at him. More tears were coming to her eyes. Pein looked at her and managed to fully open his eyes upon recognizing the familiar visage of his lover. His eyes were still concentric gray rings but were lighter than usual. Pein uttered her name but but he couldn't do much more and soon went back into lethargy.

"Why have you kept him here?" Konan asked between two sobs

"For many purposes. One of which being to fathom the entirety of his bloodline limit as we told you before. But let's not dwell on this. Here is the deal. I offer you to fully wake up Pein if you agree to help us taking Danzo and his affiliates down." Shikamaru said, earnest.

"Why…why would you do this for me?" Konan asked the Hokage

It was the first time she addressed her nephew in a non-aggressive tone. Naruto felt something melt inside of him but tried to retain his serious stance.

"I've never had a family, aunt Konan. You're my only relative left. And no matter what you've become, no matter what you've done in the past, I don't hate you. And I just want to rekindle our relationship. But since you hate me for what I did to your lover, the only way for you to forgive me is to do this."

'Not to mention, if you help us, me and Temari are safe from harm…' Shikamaru thought.

Konan looked away and closed her eyes.

"You're doing it to take Danzo down."

"It's not the most important part. Not to me and not to you either. You could facilitate our task but if you don't, you'll just stay there until your execution. But if you do help us, the death sentence might just turn into something else as I already told you."

"Naruto, I don't allow you to ever play with me on that one. If you're lying to me, I'll destroy you in one way or another. And by the way, what do you mean by 'something else'?" she asked cautiously

"Well, given your status and that of Pein, I just can't let you roam completely free. If I let you both go, you will also have your powers sealed away so that you can't use them any longer. Putting it shortly, you'll become a regular human just like Pein is now."

Konan's eyes widened.

"You wouldn't."

"What did you expect? One always has to pay for their past misdeeds. But I give you a second chance, aunt Konan. And if you accept, you and your lover will be free to go wherever you want to. "

Konan didn't answer. All this time, she thought Pein was gone forever, but now it looked like all this mourning, all this grief had been for nothing. And they were proposing wake him up… She didn't know what to do right now. All this time she had hated her nephew in remembrance of what her brother-in-law had done to her sister. But Naruto never actually hated her. He just wanted her to like him and feel he had a family after all, even though his parents were dead. She felt ashamed. Naruto looked at her right in her eyes, smiling. She was so confused that she couldn't talk anymore.

"And I never come back on my word, it's my nindo. And I am always true to it. But I need to know something before we go any further."

"What?"

"Will you forgive me if I do that?"

"Possibly." Konan said after a pause, not looking at him

"I don't take this as an answer. I asked a yes or no question." Naruto ordered coldly.

"If you really hold your promise, then yes I **shall** forgive you. But I will never forget."

Naruto showed her a sweet smile. He wanted to hug her but he felt her coldness reaching his skin. She just wasn't ready for that. Maybe she never will be after all.

"That's all I wanted to know. Consider my offer and give me an answer tomorrow. Shino, Shikamaru, take our prisoner back to her cell."

Konan was blindfolded once more and this time didn't fight the grip of Shino on her and meekly followed them back to her cell. Back there, Konan said something to the Smoking Genius:

"I saw your face. You were carefully waiting for my reaction when we were over there. I assume you are no stranger to this, are you?"

"Correct." Shikamaru answered before closing Konan's cell

"What's your interest in all of this? I almost killed your precious little Sand girl last week so it's quite strange to see you helping in this deal. I suggest you answer truthfully to my question if you want things to go your way."

Shikamaru flinched. She had outguessed him.

"Since Danzo is the main target in this bargain, I suppose it also has something to do with him. Now answer my question." Konan added

"Shikamaru, you don't have to." Shino warned. Shikamaru looked at him and considered turning away. But knowing that Konan also hated him, maybe even more than she hated Naruto, it wouldn't be wise to lie to her at this very moment.

"Well, to be true, there are two reasons why I helped. First, I want to unseat Danzo like everyone here does. Second, if you help us, it might just prevent Danzo from blackmailing me and Temari."

"Blackmailing you about what?" Konan asked

"You don't need to know this. On your answer tomorrow depends your fate and that of Pein since, if your answer is negative, not only will we dispose of you but Pein will stay in his tube until his actual death. You are the only one who can help him in seeing the daylight again. Never forget this. Good night."

With that Shino and Shikamaru left Konan alone to ponder.


	12. Feel The Heat of The Night

**A/N: WARNING! LEMONS AHEAD!** So this chapter is mainly a filler...but not quite.You'll see soon enough what I mean...

* * *

Dusk had finally coloured Konohagakure in these smooth bluish shades while orangey streaks of the setting sun still lingered in the sky. There was this mild breeze that was caressing lazily the leaves of the trees and the blades of grass of the Nara estate. Everything seemed so calm and serene that night, outside. Inside, a storm was preparing to growl. It was dinnertime and Shikamaru was having his meal with his parents. Shikaku was unusually serious, to the surprise of both his son and his wife. He hadn't opened his mouth since Shikamaru had come home. Until then… 

"Shikamaru, haven't you got anything to say to us?"

"About what?" his son asked casually

"About you little trip inside of ANBU's secret chambers with S-class criminal Konan Uzumaki, for instance?"

'Shit! He knows!' Shikamaru thought

"How have you learnt about that?" Shikamaru asked

"You haven't noticed me but I just paid a visit to Izumo and Kotetsu in ANBU's basement before going home today and saw you taking back the woman in her cell."

"Then I take it you heard what we said"

"Exactly."

"Shikamaru, were you intending to hide something from us?" Yoshino Nara said, bringing the freshly cooked Onigiri and Yakitori on the table

"No Mom. I just thought it would've been better not to concern you with all of this."

Yoshino was very surprised to see her husband so cold. She looked Shikamaru straight in his eyes and commanded:

"Well, you are going to tell us everything **now. **And don't leave anything out. What were you discussing with an S-class criminal that would've caused your father to get so nervous?"

Yoshino knew that her laid-back husband never got serious like that without a **very **good reason. Shikamaru knew that he had no choice. He then explained everything to his frowning parents, from the accidental pregnancy to the way he found to prevent Danzo from having his way with his horrible blackmail.

"Son, are you stupid?" Shikaku asked in his deep, manly voice

"But Dad I…"

"What the hell were you thinking Shikamaru?! " Yoshino raged "I mean, we always knew you had a soft spot for the Kazekage's sister but getting her pregnant like that! Do you want to bring public disgrace on our clan?"

"Not only that. Have you even thought of what freeing Pein could incur?" Shikaku went on "If Pein is back in the outside world, the Hokage will loose his credibility and will be fit for a coup d'état. Konan is a betrayer. She betrayed her sister by abandoning her nephew and then she betrayed the whole world by allying herself to the Akatsuki. Do you know what you just did? You have put your fate and that of Temari and Naruto in her hands! Do you even measure the risk you are taking is she ever decides to betray you?"

"Pein is not dangerous anymore dad!" Shikamaru argued "He is no longer able to use the Rinnegan. If she agrees, her abilities will be sealed up as well. I know it's risky but she is the only one who knows enough about Danzo to help us taking him down without provoking an outcry. Given her reaction, I am positive she will help us. And we won't release Pein publicly anyways."

"This is too hazardous, son. You are walking on a tightrope. Besides, Danzo can also decide to have her killed if he hears about your plans. To your credit, at least the Kazekage approves of your relationship with Temari."

"And about the Kazekage's sister, does she want to keep your child?" Yoshino inquired

"Yes"

"What do you mean yes?! Do you know what will happen is she delivers your child while both of you are active? You want to quit your job this is what you want?"

"No, Mom. I have no intention to quit."

"I'm going to slap some sense into you if you keep giving me that attitude, young man! Mating with a foreign kunoichi can only mean 2 things! Either you both quit, either you both go missing and thus a bounty will be placed on your heads! Is that what you want?" a livid Yoshino barked out

"Asuma-sensei went missing and came back to Konoha, Mom! He had redeemed himself!"

"And how do you believe you could redeem yourself, son?" Shikaku asked

"Well… I was thinking that helping in foiling the plans of Danzo would be enough. But anyway, isn't this up to the Hokage?"

"Yes, it is. But not only him. The Elders must approve of his decision or the usual sentence will apply. Once again you are being unexpectedly reckless, son."

"Dad, believe me! I know what I am doing."

Shikaku grunted and decided to chew on a yakitori.

"And what about your lover? Have you taken this into account? Sunagakure's rules have always been harsher than those of Konoha, Shikamaru…" Yoshino asked

"Mom, I know what I am doing." Shikamaru reiterated

"Son, I take it that you **do **know what you're doing. But, in any case, don't fail. If you do, even **we** won't be able to save you." Shikaku stated in a neutral tone

Shikamaru looked at his plate of onigiri but he had no appetite. His father was right. So was his mother. But it was too late to u-turn. Yes, placing his hopes in somebody as unpredictable as Konan was reckless, but whatever the results, he would take charge. For himself, for Temari and for their unborn child. A veil of concern was darkening his face. He stood up.

"I need to take a walk."

"Are you going to see Temari?" Yoshino asked

"Perhaps"

"Then I suppose you won't be back before tomorrow. "

"Perhaps"

"And perhaps I will ground you like a teenager if you keep talking to me with that tone, Shikamaru" Yoshino said with a hint of threat

"I'm sorry, Mom. Didn't mean any harm. Seeya later."

Shikamaru went out and strolled along the streets, trying to cast away the thoughts of defeat his father had so carefully instilled in his mind. And there was one way to make them utterly vanish, at least for tonight. The air had gotten so hot suddenly and so moist. He jumped on the Hyuuga's mansion roof and headed towards the hospital.

_Inside the Hyuuga Mansion…_

From time to time, Hinata would come and sleep at her father's house to spend some time with her family. This evening was unusually hot for the season and they had opened the doors and windows to let the fresh air in.

She was tidying her room when a timid knock was heard at her door.

"Come in."

Hanabi was here. Hinata immediately knew she wanted to talk. It was unusual enough for Hanabi to even think of talking to her sister outside missions that Hinata always recognized these moments. In fact Hanabi would always prefer the company of her cousin, but with Neji gone at Tenten's, they were alone with their father who was meditating downstairs before dinner.

"Hinata-onesan, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure ne-san, what is it?"

Hanabi closed the door and came closer to Hinata, whispering

"I'd like us to go on the roof, there are things I don't want Father to hear."

There were only a few things Hyuuga Hiashi wouldn't accept from Hanabi. Except maybe… Both sisters sat down on their estate's roof and watched silently the last rays of the sun disappearing behind the horizon.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Hinata asked

"Sister, I wanted to ask you, when did you know you were in love with Uzumaki-san?"

Hinata was stunned at that. A girl talk? As far as she remembered, it was the first time she had one with her sister…

"Are you in love Hanabi?"

Hinata opened here eyes wide. Hanabi was…blushing? The obedient yet frigid younger daughter of the main branch was blushing? She had feelings after all…

"I…I…don't know… I just feel always very…hot and my heart beats… real fast when he's around…"

Stuttering now? One more surprise…

"Well then, these are the regular symptoms of love, sister. And who is the guy you have chosen? Does he know about your feelings?"

"I don't know. We meet often, we even talk but I guess he has no idea" Hanabi answered sweetly

'How familiar in a way…' Hinata thought

"Have you ever talked to him about how you feel?" the Hyuuga heiress asked

"No. Anyway he couldn't possibly look at me that way…I'm too young…"

'Too young?'

"Is it Sarutobi Konohamaru?" Hinata inquired "If it's him, I don't remember him ever talking to you that much… Besides, he's all over that red-haired girl on his team they call Moegi"

"No it's not him. But if I tell you, you must keep it secret."

"Please don't get girlish. It's out-of-character from you."

"Alright. It's your former team mate, Inuzuka Kiba…" Hanabi said before looking away as if she had confessed a terrible sin.

"Kiba? But… but…" Hinata was at a loss of words. Kiba wasn't taken as far as she knew. But he was an incurable womanizer. In fact, if only a few male Jounins could challenge him in terms of combat skills, none had anything on him in terms of looks. No wonder Hanabi had a crush on him… Yet she was indeed a little young to consider dating him, even though she had been through a growth spurt recently. Knowing their father, Kiba would be in for violent castration if Hiashi ever heard about the Inuzuka boy dating his precious (and virgin) younger daughter… Not that it would happen in any case.

But then again, Kiba had confessed to Hinata that, if it weren't for Naruto, he would've asked her out. Although he liked girls, Kiba always had a thing for the demure, quiet, discreet type. Actually, the red-tattooed youngster had also confessed to Hinata that he was incredibly jealous once in love. Jealous because, despite the appearances, he was tender deep inside thus he always wanted to find a girl he could trust with his heart, not only with his crotch. Nothing original _per se. _But fact is, reconsidering it, Hanabi could actually fit the bill… Just like Kiba, her coldness was only apparent. She hid her caring, devoted self deep within so that no one could take advantage of it.

"How long has it been going on, sister?" the older one asked

"Well, if you must know, ever since I've been promoted Chuunin and got to know him…"

"What do you like so much about Kiba, Hanabi? He's 5 years your senior…"

"Well, he's loyal, he's kind and handsome. And he's funny, he always makes me laugh…And I love seeing him taking care of Akamaru…"

Hinata couldn't get over it. Hearing Hanabi talking so openly about love was almost as weird as seeing Shino laughing. Actually it was kinda cute…

"You also know he is cocky, headstrong and a bit on the perverted side don't you?" Hinata put in 'A bit like Naruto when he was younger' she thought

Hanabi immediately faced her sister, glaring "I don't allow you to call him perverted! I won't take this from the woman who lets her husband screw her on his desk!"

Hinata did not appreciate this and sent the chestnut haired teenager a dark look. That was rare enough from her for Hanabi to flinch.

"You are the one who sought me out for help, Hanabi. Don't get unpleasant or you will have to figure out your problem on your own. And anyway, what is your **real** question?"

"Well, how did you get Uzumaki-san to notice you that way? I mean, he barely even looked at you when you were younger… and what's more, he was pining for Haruno-san"

"Hmm, it's just I got over myself. Naruto has always been my role model and no one ever considered him that way, except for Konohamaru but that's a different matter. When he got to realize that, he started to look at me as a woman not only as a team mate. But I've got to admit Naruto was much of a knucklehead and, even when Shino or Sakura told him about how I felt about him he never understood. It remained so until I finally confessed my love as I thought I was dying when I shielded him from a fatal blow from Uchiha Itachi. Then everything took a new start. For me and for him.

As for Sakura, she always considered him an important friend, never a potential lover. She was in love with Sasuke-san but he never returned her affections. As you may know, she has now started a relationship with Sai. I think it will be much easier for you to get Kiba's attention than it has been for me to get Naruto's. Kiba isn't as unperceptive as Naruto used to be. Just show that you truly care for him and that his opinion matters to you. It will be a first hint."

Hanabi smiled at the last comment. Things didn't look that bleak after all.

"Thank you, onee-san. I feel better now…"

"Is it for him that you have changed clothes?"

Instead of her usual shapeless kimono, Hanabi was wearing a tan light cotton tunic over dark purple ninja pants. A tight obi of the same colour and white linen mittens similar to Neji's completed her outfit.

"Not really. I just thought it was time for me to develop my own style. I can't always follow Neji-niisan's steps." She blushed again "But yes, I am going to see Kiba-kun tonight. Matsuri-chan invited me at her hotel. Kiba will be there too since Kankuro-san invited him as well…"

"Where will you be?"

"The Teal Moth Resort"

"I see." That particular hotel, located on the hills of Konohagakure, was the most expensive of the Leaf Village. It also had a renowned bar where the youths would hang at night. Hanabi was still a bit young to go there alone but since she would be under the watchful eye of Gaara, there were no risk of any unwanted event.

"Hanabi-sama? Hinata-sama? Your father is waiting for you in the dinner room!" A servant called out

"Let's not make Father wait." Hinata said "Does he know where you're going tonight?"

"Yes. But he's not aware of Kiba-kun's presence. He just knows I'll be with Matsuri-chan and the Kazekage." There was a plea in her voice

"Don't worry, Hanabi. Your secret is safe with me. I trust you won't go overboard. Have fun."

Hanabi smiled sweetly and both sisters went downstairs where Hiashi was waiting for them.

_ANBU HQs, Basement, Konan's cell…_

The night was hot… So hot indeed that she had finally dried up since the moisture in her cell had inexplicably stopped. She would've normally wanted to escape but she knew it would be asinine to do such a thing now, after what she had been shown. In fact, she had decided to let her mind wonder and stop focusing on this afternoon's events. This heat, that dark, intimate atmosphere… It made her remember one of those nights where Pein and her were alone in their room… One of those rare times where there was something else to think about than carrying out grand master Uchiha's will… Especially that one night where Pein had decided to grant her the right to know all of his bodies in a much different way than the one she was used to…

_Konoha's Hospital, Temari's room…_

All of her scars had closed and eventually she had been able to take a shower. After a week like that, taking a shower felt like heaven on earth. She had been given her clothes back, all cleaned and ironed. All she'd have to do tomorrow would be to dress up and leave. She and the Suna delegation would then go back to Suna the day after. But it was not as simple as it looked…

She was hoping Shikamaru had dealt with their problem since she could only help little due to her status as an envoy from another village. What she had to do for the time being was to make sure that her precious cargo would be safe from harm of any kind. She was lying across her bed, trying to relax… She felt so powerless right now. Knowing that she was engaged in such a dangerous situation and that there was only little she could do to stir from it was frustrating to say the least… And that was when she heard it. Her window had just opened up. She reached for her fan, ready to defend herself. But the only person she saw was the one she was longing to see. Shikamaru Nara was here, with that trademark smirk of his.

"Are you going to hit the father of your child?"

"Well if he deserves it, I might just consider using my fan instead of my fists. So what is the news?"

"There are some things that I can't tell you for now. Let's say the key component is the same woman that tried to kill you."

"Konan?"

"Yes. She is the only one who can compromise Danzo efficiently, through her testimony and the physical evidence she can produce."

"Danzo will have her killed before she can do anything like that."

"Not a chance. Her cell's access is forbidden. Inoichi Yamanaka has been charged to mind scan each and every person that would come to visit her, just in case someone used a clone or a henge of myself, Naruto or Shino or whoever."

"Aren't you being a little too overconfident about this?"

Shikamaru scowled and grunted before turning away and looking through the window.

"Are you going to lecture me just like my parents did not even an hour ago? Can't you just trust me?"

"I trust you with my heart, Shikamaru." She went hitherto him and hugged him from behind "I just don't want to loose everything simply because some greedy wrinkled scumbag wants to have his way. Konan is a wild card. I don't know how you convinced her to cooperate but do you really think she won't fail you?"

"Even if she does, she will give away the proofs we need. It's part of the plan." He said before turning around and hugging her tight

"Please be tender. I'm still aching." Temari said, pushing him away gently.

"Whatever happens, stand by me Temari." He told her with a serious gaze "I am doing all this for you and for them" He pressed his hand at her belly "Don't fail me."

"I won't. It has never been my intention and you know it."

Shikamaru embraced her again, careful not to hurt her and kissed her with all the passion he felt. Temari returned the kiss just as eagerly. She knew that anyone could see them just by entering the room but she didn't care. The night was too hot and there were too much tension and stress to evacuate for them to even think of stopping or getting anywhere else. Their desire had been ignited. Fighting it was useless…

Temari only had a hospital gown on. Shikamaru made it disappear in a flash and began to run his hands all over her body. Tenderly. Because that was what she deserved from him. Because, soon, he would have to fight again. Not for the sake of Konoha but for him, for her and for their unborn child. He had pledged to Kurenai Yuuhi that he would be a cool adult in memory of his dead sensei. That included being a worthy, reliable father. But for now he needed her more than anything.

He soon took Temari in his arms and carried her to the bed. His garments were soon piled up on the armchair so that he could fully feel her warmth. Both had now their hair loose. His fingertips were putting her skin on fire. Any pain she'd still feel was now replaced by a burning desire. And her domineering sensuality was now kicking in. She wanted it to be done her way. And she knew he just liked it when she was on top. She pulled him under her and started to nibble and bite at his neck, sending delicious bolts of electricity down his spine. She went downwards, right where his manhood was expecting her. As she began to make him groan and gasp, Shikamaru decided to return the favour and pulled her on top of him, making her moan loudly as he rummaged between her legs. The battle for pleasure could start…

_ANBU HQs, Basement, Konan's cell…_

The memories had become incredibly vivid in her mind. Konan was feeling a gradually growing hunger forming in her body as she recalled the scene or, to be more precise, the sensations that had made her virtually die from ecstasy back in the days…

The night was stormy as usual. And hot, very hot. She was alone in their room. All the others were gone. Even Tobi-Madara. But Pein was here, meditating in the rain as he often did back then. She had watched him for a while before trying to get some sleep. But the heat was too much. She decided to take a shower to refresh herself. When she came back in their room, Pein was there, lying topless on the bed. She took off her towel and snuggled against him. Without a word, he turned to her and kissed her gently, his hands caressing tenderly her spine. He then turned her around and began to rub himself against her and nibbled at her nape, cupping and kneading her breasts with much care. And then, out of nowhere, he blindfolded her, a bit like he did the first time they spent the night together. She obliged, knowing that questioning him would be useless. She couldn't see anything but soon she could feel another set of hands. That thing made her wince but soon, she noticed something very strange: they felt just as familiar as Pein's hands, they had just the same way of touching her… It was one of his other bodies!

"Pein what are you doing?" she asked, a little startled

"Not a word. Enjoy this. This is how I want to love you tonight."

And she let him do. She felt four hands, and then six… In the end, twelve hands were gently caressing her, searching for her most sensitive parts, the ones that made her moan the loudest, as if they were animated by the same mind, the same wish to please her. From her ears to her delicate toes, Pein didn't leave any part of Konan's body not knowing his hands, his lips, his tongue… The Origami Mistress was swallowed in a whirlpool of lust and tenderness. She couldn't repress her moans and shivered as the waves of orgasm washed through her again and again, each time more intensely.

Pein was taking full possession of what rightfully belonged to him. All what mattered to him in that very moment was the woman he loved. He didn't care how the scene looked like. He was controlling his bodies in a way he never had before. It was a new challenge.,He could feel her being completely overwhelmed by the pleasure he was giving her without restriction. The Akasuki Leader was so aroused that he just couldn't stop touching Konan and soon wanted to feel her vibrate from the inside out. He couldn't get enough of this feeling. He finally went on top of her and demanded entrance to her body. And Konan let him break her in…

_Konoha's Hospital, Temari's room…_

Fate went easy on them. No one ever opened the door, no one ever saw what was happening in this hospital bedroom. Temari was now riding on top of the Lazy Genius who was thrusting inside of her. She was holding his arms firmly with her hands, preventing him from moving more than she deemed necessary. Shikamaru_ loved_ this although he only admitted it begrudgingly. Her long, slow, powerful strokes were driving him insane in the best way possible. Soon, his panting got heavy and rugged. He fought her grip and tried to get on top. But she didn't allow it. She wanted him to utterly explode in her.

"Temari, please! You are going to kill me if you continue doing it like that!"

"Shut up! Tonight you are mine!" she answered without the slightest mercy, her trademark smirk illuminating her flushed face

And she went on stroking his hardness at her steady pace, feeling him swelling more each time. Shikamaru couldn't take it any longer and this time reversed her grip and pulled her under him.

"Now the situation is under **my **control! And **you **will do as I say!"

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!" she said before fighting back his hold on her, not letting him out of her any less.

And their sexual joust continued on, all night long, until the very last inch of th.eir endurance…

_Meanwhile, at the Teal Moth's bar__…_

"Hanabi-chan! I was beginning to wonder if your father hadn't grounded you!" Matsuri greeted cheerfully "Nice outfit!"

"You like? It's what I choose to wear from now on."

"Well you have a fine taste. Come on, Gaara-sama and Kankuro are already here and Kiba is coming soon!"

"Alright."

The Teal Moth's bar soft light was giving it that unique, peaceful atmosphere. Some people were dancing, others conversing and some others were just having their drink at the counter. The Kazekage was in a private alcove with his brother. The red-haired boy had changed outfit as well, now wearing a dark red shirt over fishnet undershirt and plain linen pants of the same colour. Seeing him so relaxed was a bit unusual but allayed any doubts Hanabi had about spending the evening with him. He always kind of freaked her out back then. After greeting Gaara and Kankuro, Hanabi didn't have to wait long before seeing Kiba bust in, his ever cocky grin across his tattooed face. Hanabi did her best to stay calm, it was the first time they would meet under non-professional circumstances.

"Hey Kanky! How goes it!? It's been awhile!"

"Hey buddy! I'm fine and you? Glad to see you!"

"So Gaara, are you doing fine as well?" the Inuzuka boy asked "I don't think I know your lady!"

"Good evening, Inuzuka-san. Meet Matsuri, my former apprentice and soon-to-be wife." Gaara said in that usual emotionless tone of his. Kiba didn't actually liked Gaara's coldness but he still respected him for his respectful ways.

"Nice to meet you, Inuzuka-san. I guess you are Hinata-sama's former team mate whom she talks about so often?"

"That's quite it!" Kiba answered cheerfully, a bit flattered that a complete stranger had heard of him. And then he noticed a fourth presence, a much more discreet one.

"Hanabi? Is that you?" he inquired, hardly believing to see that Hinata's sister looked so good in that new outfit of hers.

She simply nodded, trying to repress a blush.

"You look damn good." Kiba stated simply before adding "I'd even say you're hot."

Hanabi's blush was too much to contain. She let it wash over, causing everyone around the table to look at her.

"Cute." Kiba said with before winking at her.

Matsuri sent her friend a knowing look. Kiba sat between Hanabi and Kankuro, still exhibiting that same revealing outfit as usual, showing off his very attractive, hairy torso under his grey Jounin vest.

"So Kanky what's up? Any hot girl in your bed yet?"

"Yep, I got that girl Nishiki right now waiting for me. Hot piece of ass, I tell you! What about you?"

"Well I'm still not decided but I think I just found someone that might interest me…" Kiba glanced sideways at Hanabi who was pretending not to hear. The tattooed-face man stood up.

"I'm gonna get myself some sake? You coming, face-paint?" He asked the Sabaku middle child

"Yeah" Both were off to the counter.

"So Matsuri-chan, I heard you got the Sand Daimyo all by yourself?" Hanabi inquired

"Yes." She lowered her voice, checking if the boys weren't looking and leaned towards Hanabi "You dig the dog-boy, don't you?"

"Uhm…Yes…"

"Don't deny it, it's so obvious it's funny!"

"Don't you think I'm a bit young for him?"

"Maybe. But if you do have more than a crush on him, age does not matter." Matsuri answered before sending her fiancé a quick smile

"So when are you getting married?" the pearly-eyed girl asked the couple

"We have not thought of a date yet. Bus be assured that you will be invited, Hanabi-san. You, your sister and your brother-in-law." Gaara answered

"That's an hon…"

She stopped dead. Matsuri and Gaara had also tensed up. The sand in Gaara's gourd, which was set next to him, had instinctively shown up, already forming a protection around its master.

"Have you sensed this?" Hanabi inquired, noticing her mates' reaction

"Yes. This chakra is distinctively known anywhere." Gaara answered "But I feel it fading away. Can you track it, Hanabi-san?"

"I can." She took her standard chakra moulding stance "BYAKUGAN!"

She couldn't actually see _him. He_ was moving away very fast. Still, by sharpening her bloodline limit, she could finally make him out, although keeping a good distance for _him_ not to sense her. She saw _his_ silhouette moving, flowing away. She also saw another chakra but before she could completely analyze it, _he_ utterly vanished. She tried to look for him with her 360° vision field but he had definitely gone. She stopped her bloodline limit and relaxed.

"_He_'s gone. _He_ was with someone but I couldn't quite discern who it was. They were so fast I couldn't quite see them and I didn't want _him_ to notice me."

Kiba and Kankuro were back, looking serious, although they were accompanied by a pretty waitress bringing their order on a tray. They had certainly felt the hostile chakra as well.

"You've also felt it, haven't you?" Matsuri asked the boys.

"I smelled _him. _I'd never though I would do again but looks like _he_'s back. And I'm sure _he_'s up to no good. I also smelled another scent but it was concealed by _his_. It was probably a female, but I am not completely sure about this. It was too fugitive for me to recognize it properly. "

"How could you tell it was a female?" Hanabi questioned, intrigued

"Well, little lady, men have a much stronger smell, due to their hormones. Women's scent is very different." He sat back next to her "A much sweeter one, indeed" He said, plunging his eyes in hers, making her blush again albeit less than before.

"Shouldn't we report this?" Matsuri asked

"Not tonight." Kiba answered "Although I don't like his presence either, I didn't smell any scent of powder, explosive notes or clay or anything that could be actually threatening right now. He didn't just set up an attack. He was just passing by. But we will report this first thing in the morning tomorrow."

"Kiba is right." Hanabi added "We'd only create unnecessary panic if we report this now. I'll inform my sister and my brother-in-law personally."

"Alright then" Gaara said "However, I'll just send a message bird right now to Suna. I'll be back in a moment." With that, the Kazekage strapped on his sand gourd and left .

"So now that this is settled, I'd like to ask you something, Kiba" Kankuro said, taking a swig of sake, obviously displeased "You know our "friend" Shikamaru?"

"Yes, what's with him?"

"The bastard is fucking my sister!" Kankuro blurted, drinking down more sake

"Kankuro! Don't be rude! She has dated him for more than 5 year now! It's nothing purely sexual!" Matsuri interjected

"Open secret, man!" Kiba said, not looking surprised at all "I mean, come on! They are **always** together, even when not on missions. Remember Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-sensei ? Same shit! Those two would always say they weren't involved. When Asuma-sensei died at the hands of that Akatsuki fucker, we all "learnt" Kurenai-sensei was pregnant with his child! A secret? Yeah right! I wouldn't be surprised if Shika had already knocked your sister up as well. I'm sure they have already destroyed quite a few mattresses…"

"If he does do that, I will fuck him up so badly he won't be able to knock anyone up before long! If someone can still do such a thing without their balls, that is!" Both boys, laughed heartily

'I'm not sure if we are not going on a very slippery ground here' Hanabi thought to herself

"Anyway, I think the stag knows better than doing such a damn stupid thing!" Kankuro said. This was when he noticed Hanabi's strangely worried look "Something wrong, sweetheart? Want some sake?"

"No, it's okay Kankuro-san. I don't think my father would ever let me out again if he ever finds out that I have been drinking alcohol on my first night out…" Hanabi answered with a sweet voice

"Such a good girl! At least you're not some skank like my sister has turned out to be!" the make-up wearing Jounin replied before emptying his glass

"Kankuro!" Matsuri said "Stop insulting your sister like that! She's old enough to know what she's doing!"

" I'm okay with her dating. I just don't get what she finds in that lazy smartass!"

"Well he's kind, intelligent and strong" Matsuri said, quoting her soon-to-be sister-in-law

"Yeah, yeah! And he's a foreigner…"

Kiba twitched before glaring at his friend "What's that supposed to mean?"

"No offence, pal! You know the rules about getting involved with a foreign ninja, don't ya?"

"Then I see your point" Kiba answered more calmly "But since she spends so much time with us in Konoha and with him particularly, it's nothing unpredictable that she'd fall for him…"

"Maybe you're right…" Kankuro agreed unhappily

"Speaking of dating," Kiba said before turning to Hanabi who was drinking her fruit juice "are you seeing anyone, pretty-eyes?"

Hanabi almost choked on her beverage and it took a few taps in the back from her sister's team mate to have her stop coughing.

"Wh…what?"

"I was saying, it's a bit odd that a pretty doll like you is still single, Hanabi" Kiba told the younger Hyuuga daughter who was back to blushing

"Well…I guess… It's because most guys are afraid of what my father could do to them if they ever happen to hurt me…" Hanabi said, a bit uneasy

"What about it?"

And the evening went on rather nicely that way. All four of them had a carefree, relaxing talk, with Gaara joining them in the end. And then it was time to leave. Hanabi and Kiba waved their friends goodbye and went home.

"I'll walk you home" Kiba told Hinata's sister

"It's okay. I can handle myself you know." She replied

"I don't doubt this. But can't I enjoy your company a little longer?"

"You enjoy the company of girls that are younger than you, Kiba?"

"Yes. When they are interesting and mature enough, of course."

Hanabi felt really happy at that very moment. Yet, she wondered if having raised the interest of a guy 5 years older than her wasn't a bit freaky. But she didn't want to soil her mind with unpleasant thoughts. Everything was just fine the way it was right now… After all, Temari-san was having a relationship with a man 3 years her junior since she's 18 and no one ever blamed her about it. Why couldn't she do the same, reverse-wise? They finally arrived before the Hyuuga compound.

"Thank you for this good time, Kiba. And thank you for walking me home!"

"Anytime. Greet your sister for me."

" I will. Good night!"

She was about to enter the courtyard but he held her back, grabbing her arm.

"Excuse me. Just one last thing."

Slowly, Kiba put one hand on her face and carefully kissed the brown-haired girl's cheek. Hanabi was very surprised. Knowing Kiba's reputation, it was unsettling to see him kissing her so chastely…

"Take good care of yourself." He said before jumping off to the roofs, heading towards his house. He sent her a last wink with a cheeky grin and went out of sight.

Hanabi entered her house, touching the area he had just kissed so considerately. She didn't notice a fondly smiling Hinata who had watched the scene attentively.

'Hanabi-nesan, you're a very lucky girl. You got Kiba to notice you in a non-sexual way. Kudos!' she thought

_Konoha's Hospital, Temari's room…_

They were both completely exhausted. But such a heated session had been more than beneficial since both seemed to have comforted each other and dispelled all the dark thoughts that clouded their minds earlier this evening.

"I need to go back home." Shikamaru said regretfully

"I know" Temari lamented "Will you come here tomorrow?"

"Of course I will…" he said before kissing her passionately again.

He barely had the strength to stand up and dressed up slowly before snuggling against the woman who had the power to fight away all of his insecurities and doubts one last time.

"I'll be seeing you tomorrow. Good night"

"Good night, Shikamaru. And thank you for dropping by" Temari said with one of her large grins "You're not so lazy when you're in a bed with me!"

"With a body like yours, one can only get busy, you know that, sweet lips… And I don't mean your mouth!" he said before opening the window and leaping out

'I must love perverts…' Temari said to herself, smirking before going to sleep…

_ANBU's Headquarters, Basement, Konan's cell…_

She had fallen into slumber right after giving herself the climax she had not had in years. Thus, she didn't feel anything when _he _drugged her and took her away, unbeknownst to the guardians who had been caught off-guard by _his_ powers. The heat was gone…

* * *

**A/N: All credits due to ByakuganLove from who inspired me the whole KibaHanabi thing!**


	13. Cold Morning

**A/N:** SORRY a 1000 time for the horribly late update! I had a tough time getting that chapter out due to my job and various other things. So anyways... Onto Chapter 13. Who abducted Konan and why? Just read and find out!

* * *

Yes, the heat was gone.

And this morning a cool wind blew, even though the sun was shining ever so brightly. In the ANBU's headquarters, it was time for shift change. Izumo and Kotetsu, together as always, were having their morning coffee before their routine inspection of the cells. Inoichi Yamanaka was slouching over the table. He had been up all night and was now trying to enjoy what little rest he could possibly get before getting back home.

"Okay, time for your beat, bitch!" Kotetsu said

"Hey, why me?" Izumo said, almost choking on his sip

"Because I said so."

"Kiss my ass! I did the last two ones, your turn now!"

"Let's arm for it!" Kotetsu dared, taking an arm wrestling position on the table.

"Your arm nothing!" a raucous female voice interrupted "You go do the beat Kotetsu, now!"

"Tsume-san? But…"

"There's no but! You go **immediately** or your ass will know what getting whipped means, got that?"

Kotetsu glared at a stupidly grinning Izumo and submitted. Anything is better than dealing with an angered Tsume Inuzuka! He stomped in the corridor and looked inside each cell. Each one of them was adapted to their prisoner. Fire users were surrounded by fireproof material, wind users had no window in their cells etc… When he passed by Konan's cell, which was closed only by a grid, his heart skipped a beat. She was no longer in her cell!!! The wild haired ninja ran like crazy towards the guardians' room.

"Kotetsu, what the…?" Tsume began

"Shut up! Call the Hokage and the ANBU hunter-nins , we got a prisoner on the loose! Konan escaped!"

"WHAT! How the fuck?"

"You think I know? Just call them!"

This time, Inoichi woke up from his peaceful slumber, red-eyed.

"What's happening?"

_The Hokage's Tower, later that morning…_

Naruto was calm. Much too. It was just a way to conceal the inner rage burning him from inside. His eyes were gradually turning to red but he somehow managed to rein in his outburst. For how long was uncertain though. Hinata's calming presence would help in the matter still. But even she looked nervous. Her face displayed a mild frown instead of her usual gentle smile.

"Okay, you four. You have 5 minutes to explain the situation and justify yourselves" the Rokudaime inquired with a hollow voice

"Konan escaped, Uzumaki-san" Tsume said unapologetically "I can't say much more, except that there is no way she could have succeeded this without any help."

"I went on my beat this morning and found her cell empty" Kotetsu added

"Inoichi-san, weren't you supposed to mind-scan each and every visitor to her cell?" Naruto questioned the Yamanaka clan's head

"There has been no visitor, Uzumaki-sama" Inoichi answered uneasily "At least not as I know…" None of his seniors actually referred to Naruto by his title, rather using his last name since they all felt a little ill-at-ease calling him Hokage. But all of them accepted his authority nonetheless.

"What do you mean not as you know?"

"Well, I…I didn't see anyone coming in."

"Nor we." Izumo answered "Me and Kotetsu have been up all night and guarded her cell. I inspected all the cells twice like every other night and she was there all this time."

"Oh yeah? Well looks like you've got shit in your eyes then! All of you!" the Rokudaime fumed as he stood up

"Naruto, stop it! You don't need to be rude to your subordinates! They were just doing their job!" Hinata said

"Yeah, well, maybe I should've…"

A knock at his parlor's door interrupted the head biting.

"Just come in!" Naruto ordered

In came Gaara, Kankuro, Matsuri, Hanabi and Kiba, a bit surprised to be welcomed so harshly.

"Morning again, Ma!" Kiba greeted his mother

"Hello, Kiba." Tsume replied with a smile

"Something wrong Naruto?" Gaara asked

"Sorry for my attitude. I just got informed that Konan has escaped from her jail!"

All five newcomers froze and looked at each other.

"Um… She didn't escape, Hokage-sama" Hanabi put in "She has been abducted."

"Huh?"

"Yes" Kiba said "We were hanging out at the Teal Moth yesterday evening and we felt the hostile chakra of Uchiha Madara. He was running away from Konohagakure very fast."

Everyone present tensed up. The mere mention of his name made a cold shiver run down the spine of any Konohan shinobi.

"He was carrying along another person, a female as I could smell, and Hanabi-san clearly identified him thanks to her Byakugan. Therefore, we can safely assert the woman he was carrying along was Konan…" Kiba finished

Naruto let go in his armchair and went limp. If Madara Uchiha was back, chaos was menacing to break loose again. But wait… didn't Sasuke kill him back then? Another knock at the parlor's door was heard.

"C-Come in" Hinata said, her voice had gone faint like it used to be when she was younger

"Yo" Shikamaru said as he entered the room. As soon as he saw his fellow's faces, he knew bad news were about to blow up in his face "What's happening?"

"Madara Uchiha is back. He has kidnapped Konan."

Shikamaru froze and felt as if he was drowning helplessly in a whirlpool. Did anything he touched have to turn to shit? What Shino had told him yesterday was true then. He was alive and on the move… But then again, maybe it wasn't totally shit after all….

"I suppose this was part of your plans Shikamaru!" Naruto barked "If it's the case, explanation **NOW!**"

"Actually, yes. I was kind of expecting that someone would come and try to do something to Konan after what we showed her yesterday. The only thing unexpected is that it turned out to be Madara Uchiha. By the way Naruto, I thought the guy was dead…"

"Er…Well…"

"This is what you told us right?"

"Naruto, you were not sure?" Hinata asked her husband

"I saw the body of the last Akatsuki member lying down on the ground with a huge hole in it. I did see that and so did everyone present."

"Why didn't you bring back his head as usual?"

"We lost track of his body after the battle with the team mates of Sasuke. But there was no way he could have survived, at least I assumed so…"

No one dared to speak up their minds right now. Naruto was still the Hokage, no matter how reckless he had been in the past and no matter what said recklessness could have incurred. Kakashi was with him way back then and thus was just as responsible as him, Sakura or Sai in the matter.

"Anyways, it's not time to dwell on past mistakes." Shikamaru said "I think we can track Madara Uchiha quite easily."

"And what makes you so sure we can catch his track, Shikamaru?" Kiba asked

"Because there is only one place where he could possibly hide without causing a major fuss ."

_Somewhere else, in the mean time…_

It was dark, very dark. She didn't recall having ever seen the light of the corridor switched off. The atmosphere was also very different. It wasn't as damp as usual. In fact, she was completely dry. She felt the walls around her and was surprised to find them just as dry. Her head ached like hell. She inspected her head to see if she had been knocked over the head but found nothing. It was just a terrible migraine.

She sat up on the mattress and eventually got the certitude that she was no longer in the ANBU's headquarters. It was way too calm, way too silent. She would normally hear the guards talking and fellow prisoners ranting. Puzzled, Konan stood up and began to make out the surroundings. She was in a regular bedroom with sparse furniture. However there was no window. She headed towards the door and opened it.

"So you're awake." A voice stated neutrally from nowhere

"Who's there?" she asked already preparing a paper blade

"No need to get defensive, Konan. My purpose is not to hurt you." The voice answered

And this is when she saw him. She had never truly eyed him without his mask but she recognized him nonetheless.

"Tobi-sama… I thought you were dead!" She said, gaping in surprise

"Many people thought so. I don't blame you. By the way, please refer to me as Uchiha Madara as you already should."

"Isn't your true name…"

"I just took the appearance of Obito Uchiha and assumed his identity. I thought I already told you this before. It was just another way to ensure that no one would know about me until I deemed it useful."

He went out of the darkness even more, incredibly different from his former appearance. Instead of his usual short, wild hairdo, Madara Uchiha was sporting much longer hair and an eye-patch on the right eye. His outfit was no longer that of an Akatsuki member. It was still a red and black shinobi suit with a fishnet undershirt. He looked relaxed but his stern attitude and emotionless stare were still on.

"Where are we?" Konan was compelled to ask

"We are in the Land of the Rice Fields, better known as the land of the Sound. This is one of late Orochimaru's lairs."

Konan nodded and then went quiet. She still didn't understand what was happening to her…

"I must say I am somewhat impressed Konan. I don't know where you've been all this time but I had to wait for your incarceration to spot you. Moreover, of our organization, you were the only female and thus the weakest. Yet, you're the only one who survived. I suppose your bound to the Hokage didn't hurt in that matter. Still, you even escaped my clutches back then thanks to my stupid great grandson. Luck has been on your side I guess."

"Do you intend to kill me again?" Konan inquired

"No. I have no longer the need to do it. You'll be way more useful alive than dead as it is. I have brought you here for several reasons, one of which being getting information from you. Another one is to serve me as a hostage would Konoha have the idea of attacking me. Which is highly probable since you nephew didn't order your execution and thus might want you back. There are other reasons that you will learn about in due time. But for now follow me. There are things we need to discuss."

Konan was vexed with Madara calling her weak just because she's a woman but answering back at someone much stronger and powerful than herself would not be a very smart move. Thus she kept quiet and obeyed her former boss without any question. This moment had a strange feeling of déjà vu to her...

_Konoha, The Hokage's Parlor…_

"And what makes you so sure the Land of the Sound would take it upon them to hide an S-class criminal who is welcome nowhere in the world?" Naruto asked his general

"Otogakure is the only village whose entrance is concealed by a powerful genjutsu that only a superior level type of eye technique can see through. Moreover, judging by the accounts of the Kazekage, Madara Uchiha was running in that direction. We haven't really inspected the Sound Village until recently and this is why our senior Jounin comrades were sent over there. They are supposed to come back later today so I suggest we wait for them and see what information they could gather as for the entrance and the Village itself."

Naruto sat back and pondered for a while, something he had a hard time doing so no one interrupted him.

"Alright, we will wait for their comeback. But whatever it is you have in mind, I demand you to expose your strategy once everyone who should engage furthermore in this matter is present. Understand?"

"Alright. Now if you'll excuse me but there is somebody I'd like to inform."

"You may go." Naruto turned to Inoichi Yamanaka and his fellow operatives "You may go too. I won't blame you for what happened. I suppose our dear foe has used his powers on you to get away with Konan unnoticed."

"Alright." All four shinobis answered before disbanding along with everyone present save for the Kazekage himself.

_The Land of the Rice Fields, early afternoon, Orochimaru's lair_

"Do you actually intend to keep me here for a long time, Madara-sama?"

The tall, dark man turned to her, staring as if he could hardly make her out.

"Are you okay?"

"It's fine, Konan. Sometimes my remaining eye gets blurry but don't worry. To answer your question, your time here will depend on your acceptance of the mission I have for you, which can also be called a service."

Konan gazed at him but didn't answer. It was better to revert to her usual, cold demeanour in the presence of that man.

"You see, I wiped out my entire clan because these traitors had allied to these Konohans low-lives who banished me. All I wanted was to make the village strive and that was how I've been repaid. My peers didn't even stand up for me. Thus I got this sweet vengeance over my clan and I thought I had found a worthy heir in the person of my older great grandson, Itachi. However he couldn't even take his brother's eyes and couldn't even get rid of Konoha's forces when they went after him. Sasuke was worthier of my time but Orochimaru has foiled my plans by "offering" this cursed hickey to Sasuke. I am now the only Uchiha remaining. And I refuse my last name to sink into oblivion. Although I am immortal, my bloodline means nothing if I'm the only one having it. Thus I need to restore the clan myself"

Konan felt an insidious cold wind washing over her. She was afraid of where the conversation was heading…

"No need to wince, Konan. I guess you already know what mission I intend to give you. I could have impregnated a thousand women but, unfortunately, only an experienced kunoichi can mother my children. Common women don't have the required chakra flows that could sustain my bloodline's level and die before delivery or have a miscarriage. I had to find a kunoichi who I can trust entirely and whose bloodline limit is compatible with my own. Do you see where I'm going?"

"You want me to bear your children." She said flatly, taking again this icy expression that suited her so well

"Precisely. But, as you might already guess, this is no request. I have chosen you. If you comply, I will make sure everything goes peacefully enough for you to raise my children in the best conditions possible. Else, you will join our brave fellows in death. All in all, consider it a distinguished honor. I am offering you to become the mother of the new Uchiha dynasty."

"Do I have to answer right now?"

"Of course not. But the sooner the better. Let's be clear. I don't ask you to love me. I **don't** love you. But I may treat you with the consideration you deserve if you agree to have my children."

"I may consider that. Can I go now?"

"Sure. Oh, and one last thing."

"Yes"

"Don't try to escape. It would be way too easy for me to track you down in my own genjutsu."

"Alright"

With that, Konan left Madara and walked slowly back to her "room", feeling as if she was strolling in a minefield. There were too many things happening in too short a time. Pein was alive and so was Madara. The former was relatively safe in his ANBU chamber, lying in wait for his liberation. Her former boss had taken her away and was now asking her to bear his children in order for him to restore his clan. In short, she'd only be a matrix.

But why her? Konan had already figured out the answer which summed up in two points. First, missing kunoichis were rare. Only such a woman would be willing to help a fellow missing nin. Second, and most importantly, even a missing kunoichi would rather die or surrender to her homeland's ANBU rather than getting involved with somebody as dangerous as Madara Uchiha. Most of said female outlaws could be redeemed by simply doing this and explaining why. Hence, Konan was the only viable option for the immortal criminal.

Moreover, he said he wanted to obtain info from her… What kind of information could Madara want that he didn't already have? She might know soon enough. And as the Grand Master Uchiha said, there is a high probability for Naruto and his fellows to come and try to free her. All in all, things won't be pretty. She went on her bed, sat on it and rested her head on her folded knees, trying to relax and think about all this sanely…

_Later this afternoon, Konohagakure's outskirts…_

At last they were home. Their time hadn't been wasted to say the least. This A-rank mission to the dreaded Land of the Sound had been a success and all five were fine. Jumping from branch to branch, Yamato, Gai, Shizune, Anko and Kakashi were hurrying back towards Konoha.

Over the years, none of them had really changed, outfit and attitude wise. Shizune wore her long-sleeved Jounin suit that she always put on when on mission. The oldest of the group, she remained the level-headed, sensible one. After the departure of Tsunade, she was appointed as the head of Konoha's Hospital and her advanced medical skills were very useful in high ranking missions. Gai still had his bobbed hairdo and his green jumpsuit under his Jounin vest. His theatrical, bombastic self was still on as well as his specialization in taijutsu which was only rivaled by Lee.

Yamato was still the friendly, laid-back one with his usual suit similar to that of Kakashi and his signature headdress. The only difference was his additional scar on the right cheek he earned from his fight with Kisame Hoshigaki. Anko wasn't wearing her typical trench coat over her scanty fishnet bodysuit. She had rather opted for a more traditional ninja shirt with skintight ninja shorts and a Jounin vest. Only her leg protectors remained from her usual attire. Although she still showed a cheerful, enthusiastic attitude, she was less hotheaded than before.

And Kakashi hadn't changed a bit. He still wore his Jounin suit with his wild shock of gray hair and his mask. His position as the leader of the mission was never discussed despite his occasional bickering with Gai and Anko.

"We made it! We're home safe!" Anko chirped

"About time! I can't wait to get some dango!" Yamato said

"Hey that's my line!"

"What? Ain't I entitled to like Konoha's dangos as much as you do?"

"Enough you two! We're not teenagers anymore. We've got more serious things to focus on for the moment" Shizune interjected

"Right! We must convey all the information we gathered and prove Hokage-sama the Fire of Youth is still burning within us!" Gai proclaimed

Kakashi took the scene with his usual smile and looked ahead to see the gates of Konoha getting closer and closer. As he absent-mindedly listened to his comrades' petty squabble, Kakashi remembered each and every moment that lead him where he was now. He had a privileged position as Leader of the Fire Daimyo's Twelve Guards, as his sash indicated. He has been dating Anko since she had broken up amicably with Ibiki Morino. However, both kept a remarkably low profile about their relationship and enjoyed it that way although it was no secret. In fact, both preferred to see each other and not to marry or at least not yet. Their mutual agreement fitted them better.

All five arrived at the gates of Konoha, greeted their fellows guarding the entry, and went over to the Hokage's tower.

_Konoha's Hospital, in the meantime_

Temari was ready to leave and was heading outside when she recognized Kankuro and Matsuri at the Hospital's entry. Seeing their faces, she knew it was trouble time.

"Hey, what are you doing here? Isn't Gaara with you?"

"Your brother is speaking with the Rokudaime. They have some important business I guess. But we have news for you." Matsuri answered

"Bad ones, ain't it?"

"Right. Konan has been abducted… by Madara Uchiha. We have all sensed his chakra last night, he was running towards the Land of the Sound and there is a high probability that the person he was carrying with him was Konan indeed. Which means our only way to take Danzo down is now gone and that we have another foe on the list."

Temari sat down on a nearby bench. She hardly could absorb the news. Everything had to be made over. Shikamaru… Was it part of his plans? She stayed quiet for a while, as her brother and her soon-to-be sister-in-law sat next to her.

"Ya shouldn't be desperate, sister. I'm sure your favourite banger will come with a really wise and clever solution as always!" Kankuro put in with a sarcastic grin on his face, earning a double glare from the girls.

"Kankuro, shut up!" Temari ordered "This is no time for irony!"

"Oh yeah? Maybe do you prefer me to state that he's just not as smart as you made him… **OUCH!!**" A punch in the face interrupted the paint-smudged Jounin.

"Let's get one thing straight, dimwit: I allow **no one** to badmouth my partner in my presence! And your sorry ass makes no exception! One more statement like that and you'll be sorrier, clear?"

"Do you want me to tell him you originally fancied the Uchiha brat before him, sis? Or the way you eyed the traitor back when we fought him in the forest?" Kankuro said back with a twisted look "No man likes to be a silver medal choice, sister dear! I could even go further and say that you dated the stag only because the other one didn't want you…"

"Sure. Do it if you want every girl in Suna to know what you did with Kiba back when you were 19. You know, that night where there was no skank to bang and both of you got really drunk!"

The Puppet Master blushed madly as his eyes widened. "How do you know that?"

"Told ya! You got **really **drunk. So drunk indeed that none of you noticed me when I came home. Or maybe you were just too much into what you were doing…" she answered with a cruel smile "Don't fuck with me, brother-dear! I took pictures of the whole scene. Do as I say and they will stay right where they are."

Kankuro nodded dumbly "Matsuri! Not a word of this to anyone, got that?" he said with a menacing stare

"No need to worry, Kankuro. I already knew about that, Gaara and I were present too that night…" the hazel haired girl answered with an impassive stare

Kankuro felt as if he was having a heart attack. But fainting like a sissy in front of his sister would only mean greater trouble so he straightened up and stood up.

"Okay, Okay. I got it. I won't say a thing. Let's get moving. We may meet your loverboy on the way."

Temari smirked and shared an amused look with Matsuri before following her sulking younger brother. Outside, they met a smoking Shikamaru.

"Yo. " He said, waving them hello "Guess you know about the wonderful news already, aint't it?"

"Part of your plan, stag?" Kankuro asked wryly

"Actually, yes. The only thing I couldn't foresee was Madara Uchiha's meddling. But anyways, it's not that bad in the end if you ask me."

All three Sunans sent him an interrogative look.

"Well, Madara Uchiha is extremely strong and supposedly immortal. However, now that we know he's alive and where he lurks, we might foil his plans before he could even set all things up. He needs Konan alive for something. So we must take advantage of this. Not to mention that Kakashi's team is coming back today so we might learn even more about this fucker since he's hiding over there. I suggest we get back to the Hokage's tower and wait for them."

"You plan to take on Madara Uchiha?" Temari answered with a slightly worried look

"This has to be done on day or another. We can't let him get around like that forever. It's already a miracle that he didn't attack for the past 5 years when he was in full power to do so, more or less. It's time to put an end to this."

"He's immortal, stag."

"I know that, lipstick. We can't kill him but we can contain him."

"What did you call me?" Kankuro asked, glaring

"Well you're the only man I know who wear make-up and lipstick on a daily basis…" Shikamaru said with an innocent stare

"This is no make-up, you fucking idiot! It's war paint!"

"Alright, you two, the next one who tries to snipe at the other gets my fan upside the head, got it?" an annoyed Temari interrupted "Now let's get moving, we haven't got all day."

"One last thing, Temari" Matsuri said, producing a long, fine blowpipe before arming it with a sharp dart. She swiftly turned around, took aim and shot at the dark and slender figure she had spotted as soon as they went out of the hospital. The spy couldn't avoid it in time and fell off the tree she was hiding in. All rushed at the side of the black-haired unconscious kunoichi.

"A ROOT agent. She must have been listening to us." Matsuri said shoving her weapon back in her pocket.

"Danzo will know about this sooner or later anyway" Shikamaru said before lighting another cigarette. "Let's leave her for now. She will be dealt with" he added, glancing at the grey and black silhouettes watching them from the hospital's roof. "Good job by the way, Matsuri-san. You have seemingly improved. Gaara would be proud of you!"

"Thanks!" The Kazekage's girlfriend answered with a coy smile. She just wished Gaara was here indeed…

* * *

**A/N:** A few little clarifications... Yes, In Chapter 11, i said Obito/Tobi was Sasuke's uncle because, judging by his age at the time he died and the timeline, I'd say he's either Fugaku's or Mikoto's (Sasuke's father and mother) younger brother or a cousin to Sasuke. I chose the first possibility.

As for my now referring to Madara as being Sasuke's great grandfather, well that's what he most likely is. Tsunade is the First's granddaughter and she is in her 50's by now. Madara belongs to the same generation as the First Hokage, hence his parentage to Sasuke.

Until next time which will be much quicker i hope! Thanks to all reviewers and to anyone who favourited this fic!


	14. Preparations

**A/N:** I'm sorry for my long updates! But my job leaves me only little time for me to focus one writing so it is not always easy, trust me! I'll try my best to update faster, i promise. Onto the newest chapter now.

* * *

Kiba has always been a bit of a broken heart. Hinata would never return his affections. Sometimes, he just wished Naruto would have dated Sakura instead, not to mention that the blond idiot would always lust after the medic back then. That was his only hope to have the girl he initially wanted. But fate had other plans: Hinata eventually confessed her love as she shielded her crush from a lethal blow that could have killed her hadn't Sakura been there to heal her. And for the dog lover, all hope for romantic involvement had been blown away at that very moment. 

He was now a well respected Jounin and would strive to always get better with his techniques, training relentlessly with Akamaru under his harsh mother, under Kakashi Hatake or even under someone as demanding as Baki, the sensei of Kankuro who he had been introduced to 3 years ago. He was good friends with the Sabaku middle child, and of course with Shino as well as Shikamaru. He was also on friendly terms with Naruto himself, even when Hinata was around. Both youngsters were birds of a feather in many ways, except Kiba was much more perceptive and much less idiotic than the Rokudaime. His skills in detection had gone as great as being able to sense the emotional state of anyone if he got close enough to them thanks to the pheromones emanating from their bodies. Everything was fine for him. Except he wanted to find someone to love but couldn't.

Thinking about it, he never had so much luck with women. Not that he was too ugly to get laid, _au contraire_. Being handsome and attractive is very useful when you want to have lots of sex. And boy, how much sex did he get! His getting older also meant him to acquire a chiseled and manly physique. All he needed to do then was to show off that new body of his. Which he did of course. But even then, after all that attention from pretty girls, after all that dirty hot sex, he still felt a void inside of him. Even the less popular Shino had gotten a steady girlfriend whom he married, while Kiba was still jumping from one fling to another, never truly satisfied. At one time, he even considered dating another man since women were getting tired. But a little make out session on a drunken night with Kankuro settled his mind: men didn't work for him. He only found solace in his mutt who was the only being he trusted with his heart. 

Eventually, Kiba realized it was time to move on and sought out Hinata to confess everything he felt for her. For the second time in his life, he shed a tear, the first time having been the untimely death of his father. And then he got to know his team mate's younger sister, Hanabi. She joined the Jounin ranks a year ago, always being in the wake of the serious Neji. 

She didn't look like Hinata (eyes aside) but her quiet demeanour did remind him of his friend. But where Hinata was gentle, Hanabi seemed coldly collected and incredibly obedient to her clan's strict rules. Although he would talk to her regularly about professional matters, even joking with her sometimes, he never tried to woo her. To be true, the quasi omnipresence of Neji near her nullified any intent to talk to her on a personal level. But her scent appealed to him, which was a very important thing to the Inuzukas in terms of choosing a mate. It was a bit similar to that of Hinata but different too. And this was also what he was afraid of. Hanabi seemed to be aware of his initial inclination towards her sister. How would she react if he ever asked her out? Any girl in this situation would feel like a consolation prize and he didn't see her that way at all.

But last night, he met her in a totally different context and he noticed her odor was not that of somebody contemptuous or indifferent. She desired him. He could recognize that particular pheromone in any girl. And he also could tell that she didn't desire anybody else present that night: she only gave off said pheromone when she looked at him. Not to mention that she had forgone her usual kimono that completely hid her shapely body for a much sexier suit. And this is what he liked : her outfit wasn't skintight nor did it show so much skin like that of that Ino-bimbo, but it still adorned and revealed her body. And he had to admit that it aroused him more than anything. So when he walked her home last night, he wanted to give her a passionate kiss instead of a peck on the cheek. But, to prove his reputation wrong, he would have to wait before doing this. For the first time since a long time, he wanted to treat a girl right… And it felt good. 

All these thoughts ran through his mind as both were riding on Akamaru's back through the branches of Konoha's outer forest together, speaking of a thousand things. Having Akamaru accepting her on his back without attacking the Hyuuga girl supported his decision even more. His dog was also a very important indicator for him, plus Hanabi always showed affection to the now giant nin dog. After they exited the Hokage's parlor, he told her he wanted to spend some time with her and she agreed to go with him.

"Hey, I didn't see your beloved cousin."

"He's on a training session with his Genin squad."

"Neji's handling a Genin squad?" he said in disbelief "How come? I asked for it like 3 times and they never accepted!"

"You know, the Hyuuga clan's rules are very strict as well as you know. Hence, we all rank high in the Council's esteem. But isn't Hana in charge of a squad as well?"

"Well yeah. They say she has the abilities to handle Genins. They said I was too reckless and too inexperienced… Shit! I had my first life-or-death mission at age 13 and I completed many similar missions since then! If that doesn't count as experience, I don't know what does!"

"I'm sure it's just a matter of time. No need to worry. By the way, there's something I've been meaning to ask you, Kiba-san." Hanabi turned to him with a serious gaze

"Yes, what is it?"

"Please promise me to be honest."

_Hah, here comes the big question _Kiba thought "I promise I will be. I don't wanna lie to you so no use to give me that look"

"You barely ever spoke to me the way you do now before last night. Moreover, you kissed me right in front of our estate. Are you trying to spite my sister or to get to her by doing this? I know you were interested in her." the chestnut-haired girl asked him coldly

"Yes I had a crush on your sister back in the days but this belongs to the past. I am not after her any longer. To be true, I was kind of expecting this question. And your reaction is understandable. As for why I never asked you out before, well it's because you seemed on a leash. Your cousin is always near you so I didn't want to cause a fuss by asking to talk to you in private. I know your clan and its rules. I didn't want to put you in trouble."

Akamaru barked, letting know that he was a bit tired of carrying a double charge. The trio settled in a clearing and let Akamaru rest for a while. 

"So Hinata-onesan has nothing to do with all of this then?"

"Nothing at all. I'm not spending time with you because you're Hinata's sister. I'm spending time with you because I want to know you and because I think you're fairly bright and enlightened for a girl of your age."

"Speaking of which, am I not a little young for you?" she asked with a hint of sadness

"Does Gaara give a shit about his age difference with Matsuri? How much younger than him is she?" Kiba said, a little irritated 

Hanabi giggled and sent the boy a grateful look. "Thank you, Kiba-san. I appreciate this honesty. Even if it's a little blunt, I still appreciate it."

Both remained silent for a while, staring at each other, smiling. She wanted him to hug her. He wanted to hold her but didn't want her to think him hasty or perverted. So he waited for her call.

"Kiba, would you mind taking me in your arms?" she eventually asked with a slight blush

He didn't answer and held her close, gently. She smelled so good, her hair was so smooth. He wanted to do much more to her but she seemed so delicate right now that he preferred to have it that way. It's been such a long time since he held a girl without groping her… For the first time, Hanabi knew the feel of a man's body, a hairy one at that but she didn't mind. His strong arms didn't feel as rugged as she dreaded they would. She was wondering if it was okay to do this… Until she felt at ease enough to chase these unpleasant thoughts. Suddenly, Kiba tensed up.

"What's wrong?"

"Four…Five. Yes, five. There are five ninjas coming our way."

"Hang in there, I will identify them right away." She took her chakra moulding stance "BYAKUGAN!"

She quickly spotted the five moving chakras and recognized them. She immediately relaxed.

"No need to sweat, Kiba. It's the team of Kakashi, they're coming back."

"Then we need to go back as well. I guess we will be needed for the upcoming mission." The boy said as he stood up, regretfully letting go of Hanabi

"You mean… Retrieving the Rokudaime's aunt?"

"That's right. Don't you want to go on this mission?"

She smiled, understanding he would go too "I'd love too."

Both leapt up to the trees with Akamaru and hurried back to Konoha.

_ROOT Headquarters, in the mean time…_

"We are loosing more and more men, Danzo-sama. All of them have vanished without any explanation. Do you think the Hokage is acting against us?"

"Of course he is, Amano. But he is clever enough not to make his moves too open for me to go and ask him about it. But I wasn't expecting Madara-san to come out like this. I am sure there is some good reason."

"What do you want to do?"

"Moriya and Rasestumaru are already eavesdropping on Kakashi's team report. If they ever decide to make a move, then you are all to intervene. However, I might put out two of them for you. Hopefully, we can delay them long enough if Nara-dono is convicted of having impregnated the Kazekage's sister. But for now, we will just wait for your fellows' comeback."

"Alright."

_The Hokage's parlor, late afternoon…_

The senior Jounins were greeted by an assembly of shinobis waiting for them. Along with the generals of Konoha and the delegation from Sunagakure, Neji, TenTen, Lee, Kiba, Hanabi and Hinata were there. The parlor was soon humming with the conversations of everyone present. Naruto stood up and cheered at the sight of Kakashi.

"Sensei! I have been waiting for you forever!"

"Good to see you too Naruto!" 

"So how did it go?"

"Well we had a couple of unexpected events but overall, the mission's results are positive." The masked Jounin replied with an unseen smile

"Good. Order, everybody! Order!" The room went gradually silent "Kakashi-sensei, you may begin when ready" The white-haired man cleared his throat and complied.

"Well, to begin, we have been able to see through the two-layered illusion spell that guards the entrance to the Land of the Sound. The first is generated by the sound of a ghost musical instrument, a very rare jutsu type. However, we couldn't locate the sources since they use ultrasound that can't be heard by the human ear, making the illusion even more powerful and difficult to dispel. But there is a way that I'll explain later on. Once this is done, the second layer is even harder to get through. It's a permanent jutsu generated by shikigamis and jufus that can't actually be broken from outside. It forms like an invisible and sentient wall. The only way to get through is to get rid of all your hostile thoughts and feelings. Then you have to get through it all at once. But if a single one fails in stripping down their aggressiveness, the wall will remain hermetic."

"Don't you think they will have changed the barrier type now that you have broken through these ones?" Naruto asked

"It's impossible to certify anything on that matter. All we know is that they hadn't changed anything when we left Otogakure."

"Alright then. Go on."

"We could get a glimpse of the Otokage, Kabuto Yakushi. Basically, he has federated all the former followers of Orochimaru, and has gained the support of the Kages of the Lands of Grass, Rain and other small countries. Physically, he has developed features similar to that of his former master: very fair skin, but not utterly white though, and snake-like eyes. We haven't been able to witness the extent of his powers yet. His outward goal is to unite all countries that are too small or too weak militarily under his cause and counterbalance the power of stronger nations such as the Land of Fire or the Land of Wind." Kakashi stopped to take a deep breath and continued "Of course, his actual goal is very different. Actually, Kabuto-san has the ambition of finishing the task that Orochimaru and the Akatsuki initiated, namely to fathom the quintessence of all existing jutsus and create a superlative weapon. To that end, Kabuto-san does not plan on using the Bijuus at all nor does he plan something akin to taking over his neighbors. As usual, it has not been possible to know the entire truth of his intentions, the only way being asking him directly. As for why he has allied himself to other small nations, there is one possible explanation: the Land of the Sound's intelligence network was too small for him to obtain information efficiently. Thus, he has created a larger army of spies and informants to serve his goals. This last statement has been confirmed by the discovery of an ANBU-like section upon inspecting the HQ's of Kabuto-san."

"Good job!" Naruto said

"Why haven't you been inspecting them earlier?" Hinata asked

"Well, the Yakushi boy vanished after the demise of Orochimaru. Since he posed no direct threat at the time, we took care of other priorities and ended up loosing his track. The boy is a wild card, we all know that. But he never expressed any hard feelings towards Konohagakure or any other country for that matter. Moreover, on his own, he was pretty powerless back then." Shizune answered

Hinata nodded and smiled in agreement.

"Anko please." The Godaime's former attendant said

"Yamato and I have been checking out the various dens of the former Otokage." The boyish woman explained "Most of them are deserted but some of them are still used as lodging or medical facilities. Only a handful is used for 'scientific' research, meaning experiments on willing subjects. However, we caught track of a very characteristic chakra in the process."

"The Sharingan, ain't it?" Shino said

"Precisely. Actually, we were so dumbfounded to sense it that we got straight towards its source. Madara Uchiha has quickly caught us in his technique but, inexplicably, he let go of us before even torturing us or anything, saying he had other things to do than wasting time on us. He also said that he didn't care if we ever revealed his presence, but that it wouldn't be wise to go chase after him, blah blah blah and other trite shit like this. Further investigation revealed that he and the current Otokage had some kind of non-aggression deal together but they don't seem to cooperate for any particular purpose. His plans are yet unknown."

"And he let you go like this? Without even mauling you or questioning you?" a perplexed Naruto asked

"We didn't get it either." Yamato answered "With Kakashi, Shizune-san and Gai on another spot, we weren't powerful enough to take on him thus we couldn't search his hideout and we left the scene. However, the last night we spent over there, I was keeping watch and saw him carrying somebody along. He was too fast and I couldn't go after him without putting my comrades in danger."

"We have an idea of the person he was carrying, don't worry." Shikamaru said "One big question remains: how can Madara Uchiha be alive?" 

"This I can explain." Kakashi answered "The Mangekyo Sharingan that Madara uses has granted him immortality. Sasuke didn't manage to kill him back then as I suspected. It must have taken him quite some time to recover but one thing is for sure: the man we saw back upon dismantling the Akatsuki was **not** Uchiha Obito but Madara in disguise. He simply took the appearance of my former team mate which wasn't that difficult for an experienced ninja like him."

"Right." Naruto said, already pondering.

"So what do you plan to do, Hokage-sama?" Gai asked, already yearning for new orders

"Simple. I reckon we can't leave Madara Uchiha roam free any longer. The problem is we can't obliterate him as he is immortal. But I mean to destroy him all the same, him and anybody involved in his schemes in one way or another. As for the Otokage, we won't do anything to him at the moment but we will keep him in check." 

Then Naruto noticed that Shikamaru was figuring out a strategy, judging by his characteristic posture. They didn't have time to talk more. A knock at the door was heard. In came Sakura, Ino and Chouji. The blonde kunoichi and the Akimichi heir were in a mess. The mission with ANBU must've been hectic.

"Ah, there you are you two!" Naruto greeted "Where is Sai?"

"He's in intensive care." Sakura reply with an air of dejection

"What happened?" Hinata asked

"Well we were trying to get information and documents from the secondary lairs of ROOT but we got ambushed. Sai tried to protect us and got skewered by one of the ROOT nins who snuck up on us. Fortunately, I could give him first aid. Chouji has just been awesome! He simply wiped them all! He has combined the Body Expansion and the Human Boulder techniques to their max and he crushed them like mash!" Ino told with enthusiasm "Tonight I will reward you…" She whispered in her team mate's ear making him blush

"Chouji-kun… I wouldn't have thought you'd be so violent…" Shizune asked the long haired boy

"Well, you know what they say about the wrath of gentle men don't you?" he answered with a warm smile "Self explanatory."

"On a second note, ROOT is now taking our little meddling as an open act of betrayal towards Konoha. They have threatened to have us incarcerated and tried as soon as they can." Ino added

In his corner, Shikamaru had finished his brain work and came up to the Rokudaime's desk. 

"I think I figured some things out. First off, if we want to permanently get rid of Madara Uchiha, we need to find his weakness despite his strength."

"I guess you have an idea about it." Naruto stated

"He sure does." Temari answered in his stead "So have I"

"What do you think?" Shikamaru challenged her with one of his smirks 

She gave her answer. Shikamaru gave her an appreciative look.

"Bravo. I guess it was pretty obvious though."

Everyone's jaw dropped.

"How come we didn't think of this before…" a disgruntled Kakashi said

"Yes indeed" Yamato approved

"Is it really that simple?" Shino inquired, skeptical as always

"Well it's not everything but that's the most important point in the process of defeating him."

"What do you think he needs Konan for by the way?" the Aburame heir added

"I have no idea but there are many chances that he'd use her as a hostage if we get the jump on him. It'd be unnecessary trouble. This is why it would be preferable to free Konan before anything else. But there is also something we must do aside from this. We need to search Madara's lair. He's been around longer than anyone in here. He must have kept some valuable information there. Moreover, since it seems that ROOT is now aware of our intentions towards them, it's not impossible that they'll try something on our way to Otogakure or here as we're away."

"We'd like to add something." Chouji said "ROOT is indeed 'rooted' everywhere. Getting rid of the Land of Fire's division means only to cripple one of the ROOTS. There are actually other similar organizations in other countries such as the Land of Wind or the Land of Earth."

"We already know about this, Akimlchi-san." Gaara replied "My own sensei and his men are working on them currently. Our daimyo's demise has prompted them into keeping a low profile but they are still active. Their leader has not yet been identified though."

"First things first, anyway." Shino said "We will get rid of any ROOT operative that refuses to surrender, including corrupted ANBU members. Sakura, please inform Sai as soon as he is able to speak."

"Alright." Sakura agreed

"I'm glad to hear we have a chance to doom Danzo. " an idiotically grinning Naruto blurted, rubbing his hands and already devising ways to inflict him the most painful punishment on the armless elder "Now then! Time for dispatching the tasks!" The Rokudaime said "I will personally lead the expedition to Otogakure with the aid of my generals and that of sensei. While I'm away, the ones who stay here will take orders from Hinata and will report to her."

"Naruto! Can't I come with you? I don't want to sit here and wait for your return!" Hinata pleaded

"Your role is vital, honey." Naruto answered kindly "I need someone to protect the village and to lead our fellows if needed. I'm quite certain ROOT will try something."

"Me? But…"

"Do you want to help me?"

"Yes…"

"Then do as I say." Naruto told her with a serious stare "You can do it, Hinata. And I know you will do great."

Hinata nodded a silent agreement.

"With that settled, Shikamaru, Shino, Kakashi-sensei will announce the names of the persons requested for tomorrow's expedition."

"Naruto"

"Yes Gaara?"

"We shall come to help."

"You want to come? Seriously?

"Yes. Don't expect us to stay here and wait for your return. The Akatsuki also infiltrated us back then and betrayed us"

"Quite the way you backstabbed us as well, may I say." Neji put in. He never liked the Sand denizens. His code of honour always said that you can't trust somebody who betrayed you once. Gaara and him couldn't actually get along and would avoid the company of one another. 

"Neji! Not here and not now!" TenTen reasoned with him

Gaara sent him a contemptuous look but didn't respond. Kankuro was about to open his big mouth to answer right back at the noble but Matsuri put her arm in front of him and shook her head. The paint-smudged Sunan kept mum begrudgingly.

"I don't think this is time for picking fights, Neji." The Rokudaime scolded the Hyuuga boy. "Anyway, Gaara, your help is welcome. We'll include you in the platoon. Now please Kakashi-sensei, Shikamaru, Shino."

"Well then there will be 3 teams." Shikamaru said "With me, Chouji, Temari, Ino and Lee." 

"I shall take Kankuro-san, Sakura, Hanabi and Kiba with me" Shino said

"Neji, TenTen, Anko and Yamato" Kakashi finished

"Perfectly done" Gaara praised "You've got a perfect lineup here."

"Me and Gaara shall lead the expedition." Naruto said. "Gai and Shizune will stay here and help Hinata in case of need. I suppose Matsuri-san will stay here too?" he asked his Wind counterpart who nodded

"Gaara! Why can't I come with you?" Matsuri said with an inch of reproach in her voice

"You shall stay here and aid Hinata in keeping Konohagakure safe from harm." Gaara said with his neutral tone, indicating that there wouldn't be any discussion on the matter. Matsuri bowed her head. Gaara took her chin between 2 fingers and lifted up her head "Your role is just as vital as ours, Matsuri. I am not leaving you out, I am just giving you other responsibilities. Moreover, you are not trained enough yet to take on somebody as powerful as Madara Uchiha himself. Do you understand?"

"I understand." She said darkly

"We are to meet tomorrow at the gates at 07:00 am. It takes 36 hours from here to Otogakure. We will depart all at once. If anyone's late, we won't wait." Naruto said with a glance towards Kakashi who scratched his head with an invisible smile "Any questions?"

No answer.

"Good. You're all dismissed for tonight. See y'all tomorrow!"

With that, everyone disbanded.

_Somewhere else, in a remote __district of Konohagakure, twilight…_

A solitary, clumsy figure walked down the dimly lit streets. Danzo wouldn't usually come into such a neighborhood. For the sake of discretion, the maimed Elder was using a transformation jutsu. He stopped in a lightless blind alley. In the darkness, he clearly saw a pair of bright red eyes staring at him.

"Stay right where you are, Danzo."

"Alright. I guess you already know the news about our senior Jounins breaking in Otogakure?"

"Yes I do. They are so predictable. I knew they would want to organize an expedition after this. But they're too late already. If they want to get Konan, they will have to deal with me first. As for _the other thing, _they won't make any impression on it. No one has a clue about it apparently."

"And Yakushi-san?"

"Still refusing to cooperate more but I can't make him. If I kill him, my cover is lost and it's still too early for acting openly. Therefore, we may leave him alone for the moment. Is the situation under control here?"

"Well, we are loosing more and more men." The old man answered, a little embarrassed "They have clearly stated that they wanted to take ROOT down. In Suna, my ROOT section is still pretty safe, mostly due to the absence of the Kazekage at the moment."

"Have you scheduled anything for tomorrow?"

"We have arranged a platoon to welcome them on the way to the Land of the Rice Fields. They may weaken them enough for you to deal with them more easily" 

"Perfect. Just one thing." Madara said sternly

"Yes?"

A sudden pain to the chest struck the one-eyed Elder. However, not a single drop of blood stained the ground or his clothes.

"M-Madara-san…w-what…?" Danzo stammered

"You're no longer needed to carry out my will, Danzo. You may take this as your severance. For you and your subordinates. Don't be frustrated, I am just hasting things. You would have died in one or two weeks anyways. You've been a wonderful pawn but I reckon it's time to get rid of what is not necessary. Your ROOT sections have been ferreted out then their downfall is impending. And this will buy enough time for me to finish. I shall go now, excuse me."

Danzo gazed at the Uchiha traitor, accepting his fate. He always knew that cooperating with the former Akatsuki leader meant his eventual death at his hands. But he wasn't expecting to be disposed of at this moment. 

_At least__ I could give my last orders to Amano in time, _he thought as his vision blurred, as he watched Madara walk away calmly.

_A little earlier__, Konoha's heights…_

To be able to share some quality time before the big day that would come too early was an unexpected luxury that none of them would pass by. The sun was lingering in the sky for a little moment more and the clouds were splashed by an explosion of rare colours. Shikamaru was lying on his favourite grassy spot, looking up at the peacefully drifting atmospheric phenomena. A certain blonde with four pigtails was resting her head on his chest, looking up as well and learning to appreciate the claming effect of cloud-watching. Both were silent, simply enjoying each other's company, easing their nervousness. The smooth breeze that blew tonight resonated in their ears as the light gradually faded to let the first stars appear.

"So in the end your parents don't like the idea of us together either, eh? I thought they were already aware of it." Temari stated neutrally

"That's not it. They knew it of course and don't see anything wrong with it. They just don't approve of your being pregnant with my child. They just say it's a reckless move."

"I can understand. I guess my brothers will give me the same kind of lecture when they know about it. Kankuro will certainly want to kill you!"

Both shared a laugh.

"Don't worry about my parents" Shikamaru said "About our relationship, they don't mind it at all, you know that. Do you remember the first time I've introduced you to them?"

"Sure I do!"

* * *

_5 years ago, the Nara household, __a few weeks before Naruto's return…_

"Ma, Pa, this is Sabaku no Temari, the Kazekage's sister with whom I am working on the Chuunin exams." 

"Nice to meet you, Mrs Nara." Temari greeted, bowing respectfully before the Nara matriarch who bowed in response "I think we already met Mr Nara. It's a pleasure to see you again"

"it's an honour to welcome you. Please make yourself at home." Shikaku replied

"Yes. I am getting some tea for us all. Shikamaru dear, please come to help your beloved mother." Yoshino told her son with a dangerous smile.

"Yes, mom" the Nara heir agreed, knowing that he was doomed, and followed his mother in the kitchen while Temari and Shikaku sit around the living room's table

In the kitchen, Yoshino grabbed her son's arm violently

"You invited Suna's ambassador in our house without even warning me. How do you want me to kill you?"

"But Ma I…"

"What if I hadn't run the errands? What if I hadn't finished the cleaning? How do you think we'd be considered? Go back in the living room! I'll see about your punishment later."

Shikamaru complied sheepishly, preparing himself mentally for said punishment. In the living room, Papa Shika and Temari were already conversing.

"…so I accepted the job. I'll be bouncing back and forth between our two countries for the next months until we're all set. However, I can't linger here too much."

"That will be a lot of work for you and my son. Isn't that too much for you Shikamaru?"

"It's a pain but these are the orders of the Hokage. I must aid Suna's ambassador in the making of the exams."

"And he just loves it, although he will never admit it." Temari said with one of her huge grins "Don't you?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Shikamaru pouted

"Shikamaru! Do not be rude to our guest!" Yoshino barked as she brought the tea "Here." She said much more nicely as she handed a cup to Temari "So you're working on the Chuunin exams. I hope our son is not lazing around too much."

"Oh he'd better not. He knows just what awaits him if he does!" Temari answered before sharing a laugh with Yoshino

Shikamaru wanted to dissolve and evaporate at that very moment. He knew that this first meeting would be at best troublesome. Temari and his mom getting together… It was too much to handle, most of all if they actually liked each other. Seeing his son's disgruntlement, Shikaku mercifully asked him to come and help him with the deers for a while. Both promised to show the property to Temari later that day.

"Shika, you're walking on hot bricks aren't you? The girl is like your mother!"

"I know that, pa. She's even worse than Mom, I tell ya…" a glimpse of a dead Tayuya under a sliced trunk made him shiver

Shikaku smirked and sniggered, before lighting up a cigarette and looking away.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Curvaceous, strong, apparently quite smart, violent, domineering…"

"Yeah. So?"

"Daughter-in-law material, son. Even though you shouldn't date a foreign ninja…"

"We're absolutely not dating Pa!"

"Yeah right!" Shikaku said before laughing out loud at his now furious son

_Inside the house…_

"I'm glad to hear that you and my son are getting along so well…" Yoshino stated with a gentle smile "It can only do good to the diplomatic relations between our countries."

"Well, there are only a few men that have gained my esteem and your son is one of them. He might be lazy as hell, I can only respect someone so skilled at strategy."

"And you accompanied him while he was waiting for Chouji… How considerate…" Yoshino's stare was turning fishy

"Well that was the least I could do." Temari answered before drinking some tea

"How long have you been dating my son?" 

Temari choked on her sip and coughed before managing to say "Excuse me?"

"Well you're an attractive, strong, exotic young lady. Just his type. Not to mention the awful amount of time you spend together..." 

"Mrs Nara I have no intention of going out with your son! I do like him but only as a business partner."

"Huh-huh. Well it'd better remain that way for the time being"

Both women defied each other with a fierce look until Yoshino relaxed before smiling sincerely at the woman before her, unnerving a slightly riled Temari in the bargain.

"But I must admit Shikamaru has a nice taste. I wouldn't want him to date some hussied-up tramp. At least, he got himself a respectable young woman who can get him to work." Yoshino said 

"I appreciate the compliments Mrs Nara but I assure you we're not dating in any way, shape or form."

"It won't be long before you do, Temari-san. Trust me. Not to mention that you already like him a lot. I'm a woman as well. I just know when another woman has the hots for a man." Yoshino stood up and took away the tray with to the kitchen, sending her guest a playful grin. Temari didn't answer and blushed horribly.

_What a shrewd woman. _She thought. _I don't know if I have to believe each and everything they say about mothers-in-law but I do see why Shikamaru and his father are afraid of her. I have a lot to learn from her! _

* * *

_Back in the present…_

Both lovers laughed at the memory before standing up and walking back down to Konaha downtown.

"I just love your mother!"

"I bet you do! But I think you'd better not see her again before this shit is settled. Where are you staying tonight by the way?"

"The Hokage is accommodating us at the Officials' building as usual."

"You do have a personal room then?" the Lazy Genius asked with glittery eyes

"Of course I do. Why?" Temari said with a falsely coy face

"I'd love to make your brother angrier than ever…"

"He'd better not barge in my room or he'll have to face my wrath. And he knows it…"

"This time, I'm in charge. So be a nice little woman and let your man take care of things." He said before holstering her in his arms and leaping up towards the roofs before she could even react

"You are going to suffer for this." Temari told her suddenly bold Nara ninja

"Like hell I would. Told ya, tonight I'm in charge!" 

"In your dreams!" she said as she struggled to get free but soon saw that her wrists and ankles were tied by shadow strings " Shikamaru! I don't allow you to do this! Once we're in the room, you are getting what's coming to you!"

The bickering went on until both arrived in Temari's room in the Officials' building, preparing for another round of their own special wrestling…

_In the meantime, the Land of the Rice Fields, Uchiha Madara's hideout…_

She had felt Madara going out this evening. He didn't put anyone to guard her or to keep her from escaping. But she knew better than trying to fool the Grand Master Uchiha. She knew that she wasn't strong enough to take on him on her own and that doing so would mean her inevitable death. And she didn't want to die. Not after what she saw in the ANBU secret chambers. She also knew he wouldn't be back until tomorrow so she took advantage of this little time out to investigate the place. She took her standard chakra moulding form and turned herself into that paper whirl that only she could create, turning herself into a swarm of origami butterflies that went searching each and every recess of the lair. All rooms were invariably empty, all of them furnished the same with packed up bookshelves, containing the results of decades of research. She was in one of the many libraries of Orochimaru. She had already heard of them since Madara would often steal information from the White Snake back in the days of Akatsuki.

She had been searching the place for quite some time and eventually decided to send one of her butterflies outside to have an idea of the surroundings. From her paper scout, she could see and hear everything, as if her mind was traveling along with her origami. Outside, the landscape was nothing but a forest of very old trees that hid the entrance of a few other hideouts. A glade could be seen from afar. The origami went all around the tree towering over the hidden library before a loud growl was heard from beneath the ground… Not like an earthquake, rather like a raging lion or a huge tidal wave. She made her paper animal come closer to the source. It came from under this crack in the ground, next to the deserted library. It was really narrow but not tiny enough to impede a sheet of paper from slithering under. It was very dark of course but a little more time and her eyes could actually see around where the sheet of paper was. A little more inspection and she could make out a stack of books and what looked like a sealing chamber. The growl echoed through the place again. She wanted to see where it was coming from and went farther towards the source. Upon seeing _it, _she was a little startled but not actually surprised.

_Pffft! I knew it_ she thought. _And I have been dumb enough to believe him in the first place. The bastard has been lying to me all along. So that is what he has in mind? Interesting albeit prosaic. It already failed many times by the past, I wonder how he plans to make this come to fruition. Lust for power can turn any great thinker into a numbskull I suppose. But anyways he'll never get what he wants from me. I will die if I follow his plans so it's time to find a way out of here._

The paper sheet flew back lazily towards its owner. 


	15. It Begins Now

_Konoha's Foreigner's District, dawn__, 5:00 AM…_

This particular neighborhood was one of the most discreet of the Hidden leaf Village and one of the least populated due to its fluctuating number of inhabitants. Secret meetings would often be held here since only a few persons went cruising its streets at night and most of its permanent residents were actually not interested in any of said meetings. Hence, it was also the perfect place for illicit affairs, particularly smuggling. But the discovery of Danzo's body by a passer-by surprised everyone. A flock of carrion crows were still standing by, having nibbled a little at the slightly decayed corpse. ANBU soon appeared and took it away before any more damage could foil the upcoming autopsy.

_The Hokage's Building, the parlor, __a tad later this morning…_

Naruto was in a particularly good mood. A relaxing massage given by his caring wife last night along with a good, refreshing sleep got him completely ready for today's mission. But he needed to finish some paperwork before heading out. A few signatures later, he was ready to go. This was when he noticed that brown envelope that wasn't here last night. Inside was what looked like a medical report, but it wasn't coming from Sakura's office. It was about Temari's final condition. The conclusion of the report got him to muffle a scream. At that very moment, Hinata came in, flanked with Gaara and Matsuri.

"Naruto, something wrong?" the Hyuuga girl asked, noticing the shocked expression of her consort

"Ho… Honey… Read this…"

She took the sheaf he was handing her and read quickly through the report, which conclusion made her quake.

_Oh no! Please no! Not the right time at all! _She thought before stuttering "I…W-What…N-N-Naruto, I…"

"What does it say Naruto?" Gaara asked with a concerned stare

"Um… It's about your sister, Gaara." Naruto answered uneasily "The report here... It says she's pregnant…"

A wooden Gaara took the report from the virtually liquefying Hinata. Matsuri peeked over his shoulder and opened her eyes wide upon reading the accusing report.

"Naruto… Have Temari come here right now, will you?" Gaara ordered his Fire counterpart who complied without a second thought

_Konoha's Hospital, the morgue__, meanwhile…_

"We don't have time to properly analyze his body before the Hokage sets out" Shizune said as she unveiled the maimed Elder's corpse "But from what I have seen, he died from natural causes, meaning no evidence of wounds, aside from that of the crows' beaks, and not a single external symptom of poisoning such as cyanosed face or dry froth at the mouth's corners. The death has been quick and without violence. He didn't struggle, nor was he beaten. The absence of bruises attests so. Most probably a heart attack or an aneurism puncture. For the moment we will just inform the Hokage of our current conclusions. We'll be doing a deeper analysis and report it to the Hokage's wife when it's done. Please give the primary analysis to the Hokage."

"Alright" her assistant answered before running upstairs, the report in her hands

_The Officials' building, last night…_

The rumble was on as soon as the set foot in Temari's room. She just couldn't stand being tied up by Shikamaru the way she was.

"Okay now, the joke has gone far enough! Untie me this instant!"

"Oh no! I prefer you all bound and if you don't shut up I'll also have you gagged!"

The blonde Sand nin couldn't believe what she just heard

"You wouldn't"

"Try me! I thought I told you that I was in charge tonight!"

"Untie.my.hands.now." she commanded "Or I scream for Gaara, he's in the room right across!"

This last threat succeeded in destabilizing the Shadow Wielder. Knowing the man, Gaara will certainly not hurt him but would ask Kankuro to do it. After seeing just how pissed the Puppeteer got upon learning of their involvement, Shikamaru knew he'd be on the receiving end of the Black Secret Jutsu.

"Alright, Alright. Have it your way" he replied, regretfully complying

"Yes. MY way. And don't think you'll get away with this!" Temari said with dagger in her eyes. But soon after she was grinning "But then again, I guess I can give you what you want for tonight. Enjoy it, I make it an exception, got that?"

"Temari, I…"

"Now shut up and get over here"

He jumped on top of her and gave her one these passionate kisses that she loved so much.

"You'd better be damn good or I take the reins in your stead!" Temari said, smirking

"You won't be disappointed!"

"Oh yeah? And exactly WHAT won't be disappointing, stag?" an irate voice interrupted from behind

"KANKURO!! YOU ARE SO DEAD!!" Temari shouted as soon as she recognized the owner of the unwelcome comment, even without his usual cat-eared hat and his makeup-free face.

"What's the matter, Temari? You can't be bothered to find another place to get screwed or what?"

Said woman shoved her lover aside and reached for her fan.

"You want to get screwed up? I am gladly offering my services, you voyeur!" she said before lunging at the offending brother who got out just in time to avoid a massive fan blow.

Kankuro went across the corridor and knocked tranquilly on Gaara's door, smiling sadistically at his sister who froze dead upon realizing what he was doing. But nobody answered. Kankuro reiterated his knock before irritably forcing the lock and opening the door.

"Gaara! Temari is getting…" Upon seeing what was happening inside his brother's room, the Sabaku middle child's voice failed him

"Kankuro you'd better have a very good reason for breaking in my room like that" a topless Gaara snarled "And don't stare at Matsuri!"

The Kazekage's fiancée was only wearing a bra and her panties, blushing madly before scowling at her lover's brother. "Get on with it! And stop looking at me!" she ordered sharply the dumbfounded puppeteer

"Well…uh… I think I'll go and get seriously stoned." The jounin answered sheepishly before heading out, not without suffering a hit upside the head from what looked like a sand ball

"If you want to get some action tonight, I can still call Kiba and you can resume your little session, don't you think?"

"Just go fuck yourself, Temari! I'm not a faggot and you know it! Stop bothering me with that one-time shit!" he replied, rubbing his brand new head bump

"Are you butt-hurt, Kanky-darling? And about my fucking myself, someone is already doing the job nicely, don't worry about this!"

"JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP! I'M NOT GAY! I'M JUST LONELY, OKAY? I don't need you to fucking rub it in my face!" Kankuro fulminated before running away and slamming the door of his room shut. She was not sure, but she could almost see tears in his eyes. Using her way with the pressure of airwaves, Temari sharpened them so she could hear her brother as if he was next to her. And she did hear him cry this time, muttering something like "Why not me? Why can't I?" between two furious sobs. Upon hearing this, Temari felt something break inside of her heart. It was not like she had never seen her brother weak before but it was indeed the first time that he confessed it so openly. She felt a little ashamed and bit her lip

"You're being too harsh on him" Shikamaru said behind her as he lit up a cigarette "He just wants to protect you. It means you're important to him."

"You really think so?"

"I do. I'm a single child therefore I know little about brotherly bounds but I know one thing for sure: no one gets worked up like this over something they care nothing about. You should go and talk to him."

"He's right, Temari." Gaara said as he showed up on the corridor, still topless and followed by a more covered up Matsuri "I think we should talk to him indeed."

"You heard?"

"Yes. And Shikamaru-san is right. He's hurting. Now come with me."

Temari obeyed and both went over to their brother's room, knocking on his door.

"Can we come in?" Gaara asked

"GO AWAY! I got nothing to say to the both of you right now!"

"We need to talk, Kankuro. Stop acting childish and open the damn door!" Temari said

"What part of 'Leave me the fuck alone' do you not understand?"

"Open this door, Kankuro or I tear it down."

Gaara's cold tone had the desired effect. Shortly after, the door finally opened on the tear-streaked visage of their brother. All three entered the room without another word.

"Kankuro, I just wanted to apologize. I've been a real bitch to you. But I was just miffed at your entering my room uninvited. Don't do this anymore okay?"

"It's okay, I won't."

"What's the matter, brother?" The Kazekage asked in rare display of concern

"It's just I … I'm just damn jealous of you two, that's what. At least, you got someone. I got no one. It just struck me tonight…"

"You have us, don't you?" Temari said with a gentle smile

"No sarcasm, Temari. Now is not the time."

"I wasn't being sarcastic, Gaara. I'm just saying that he's not alone. Don't worry, Kankuro. You'll get to know your woman soon enough. But if you want some advice, stop dating random skanks who are just interested in your high-ranking status. You deserve more than this."

"What do you mean?"

"It means that I know your worth and that I care for you much more than you think"

"Really?"

"Of course. Sure I like to pick on you, but it's just my way of loving you. And I don't think you'd like a sweet and meek big sister, don't ya?"

"Sure not!" he said with a sincere smile

"No matter who has entered our sentimental life, you still remain a priority to us, brother. Be it in our jobs or in our private life, we'll never push you around. And you know it. About your own lack of romantic involvement, like your sister said, give it some time. You are still young and there's no need to worry about this. Luck will soon turn your way." Gaara told his brother

Kankuro smiled at his siblings. They did care for him, even when he was just acting like a spoiled brat. At this very moment, he thought about his own parents, especially his mother. His father was too much of a selfish, uncaring asshole for him to actually miss him but Sabaku no Karura… that was something else. At this very moment, another knock at the door was heard.

"Hey, face-paint? You there?"

_Shit!_ The puppeteer stood up and then, towards the door "Uh… yeah! Just wait one sec Kiba! I'll be right here!" he said before rushing into the bathroom to wash his face and remove any trace of sorrow.

As he opened the door, Kankuro waved his siblings goodbye with a large grin and went out to greet his buddy who couldn't help but notice his eyes were red.

"Were you sleeping?"

"Huh? Er… Yeah, yeah! I was just taking a nap."

"Looks like spending time with Shika makes you lazier!"

Kankuro glared "Hey! Don't you compare me to that bum! I don't sprawl around all day the way he does! And how come you managed to get in here with you dog? Don't you wanna smell good for once in your life?"

"Oh yeah? Well at least I don't wear lipstick or eye-shadow, missy!"

And both boys went on bickering like they always would before going out to eat at the Ichiraku Ramen Store, under the fond eyes of Kankuro's siblings.

"I guess he'll be alright. Kiba will lighten his mood." Gaara said "By the way, that was nice what you said to him, that he is worthier than he thinks."

"He doesn't realize it but I do treasure him. Just like I treasure you and Shikamaru although it's not exactly the same."

"I'm glad to hear that"

Both Sunans exited Kankuro's room and found Matsuri and Shikamaru waiting for them in the corridor. The young woman handed her lover one of his casual shirts.

"So, how about we have dinner together?" Shikamaru proposed

"That'd be a very nice idea, Shikamaru-san"

"Alright, just let me put some other clothes on and I'll be right back!" Temari said

As she was changing herself, Matsuri addressed to Shikamaru

"Kinda heartwarming to see the three of them so close, don't you think?"

"Yep. Gotta give you props for lifting up the spirit of the badass by the way, Gaara. It was a little surprising to see him aching like that."

"Tough guys are all made the same, Shikamaru-san. Those who fight to their maximum potential and show a gruff exterior always do it to chase away the doubts in their hearts. My brother makes no exception to that. Neither does Temari but I think you know that better than I do. You're her only weakness."

"Just like Matsuri is yours, may I add!" the Nara heir said with one of his rare grins

Gaara blushed in response, causing Matsuri to giggle and kiss him.

"Okay, you three I'm ready! Let's go!" Temari said as she came out, wearing a casual, tight-fitting blue dress, very similar to those Kurenai would wear during her pregnancy. Shikamaru couldn't refrain from staring at her appetizingly underlined figure. He wanted to tell her to dress like this more often but such comments were still risky in front of Gaara.

The four of them went dining at a good restaurant downtown, eating and conversing as if tomorrow's mission was nothing to worry about. Although the night resonated with the alternated moans and sighs of both couples, the morning came way too quickly, way too harshly. Most of all when Genma showed up at the building's entrance, asking Temari to come urgently at the Hokage's building to meet her brother and Naruto.

"I'll go with you!" Shikamaru said

"Hum… Shikamaru-dono, the Hokage clearly stated that he wanted to see Temari-san but he made no mention of you."

"Leave it, Genma. This concerns me more than you think."

Temari looked at him, more than worried.

"You don't think…"

"I don't see why they would want to see you personally and urgently right before today's mission if it's not about _this…_"

Both lovers shared a quick nod and followed the messenger right away, preparing themselves for the big time coming up.

_Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office…_

"WHAT?"

"Yes Hokage-sama, we found his body in an alley this morning. He seems to have dropped dead according to the primary report. We will do a deeper analysis later on today and give it to your wife." The woman said

"Fuck that shit! I wanted to execute him myself! What was he doing over there anyway?"

"We don't know. But we may find out more about it this afternoon"

"Hinata?"

"I'll keep you updated, don't worry."

"You may go" Naruto told the woman "Tell Shizune I'm counting on her."

"I will" The woman vanished in a puff of smoke.

A few seconds later, someone knocked on the parlor's door.

"Come in."

"Hokage-sama" Genma said "Suna's ambassador is here."

"Good, Let her in and leave us"

At the moment they entered, both lovers knew it was time to eat shit. Naruto and Gaara were both glowering at them, Hinata was fidgeting and Matsuri was looking downwards.

_Crap, crap, crap! _Shikamaru thought,_ I feared it would happen. Danzo's doing, no doubt about it._

_I am dead__, _Temari thought, _stone cold dead_

"What are you doing here, Shikamaru? We only required Temari-san to come here."

"I also need to tell you something important"

"You'll tell us later. Temari-san I guess you already know what we convoked you here for, don't you?" Naruto inquired bluntly

"I suppose"

"For how long were you intending to hide it from me?" Gaara asked, just as unsympathetic "Until you were too bloated to lie about it?"

"Well, I was intending to reveal it once the mission would be completed."

"Is it something you had planned?"

"No, it's accidental but it's nothing surprising. We didn't use protection and that was our mistake in the matter."

"I take it you know who the father is then?"

"Yes"

"Then who is it?"

"I am"

All eyes turned to The First General of Konoha while a dead silence filled the room.

"Shikamaru, if you're joking, it's not funny." Naruto uttered in disbelief

"I am not joking. Temari and I have been a couple for years. This is just an official confirmation."

"I knew it! Who do you think you were fooling? From the time I first saw you when I got back from my training with Jiraiya, I just felt there was something between the both of you! It's so damn obvious, I don't understand how you even considered trying to hide it!"

"We just happened to believe that it was better to keep a low profile given the rules of relationships between shinobis of different lands."

"It wouldn't have changed a thing. By the way, you said my sister's pregnancy was an official confirmation. Did you intend to use this baby as gossip material?" Gaara inquired coldly

"Of course not."

"Quit playing, Nara-san, this is a very serious matter we are discussing here."

"I am not playing, Gaara-sama. Temari and I knew that it'd never be easy for us. And I fully understand the gravity of this situation. Unfortunately, our getting involved is nothing we could help."

"Do you even know what could happen to the both of you?" Naruto asked with restrained anger

"I have my guess" Shikamaru answered, drops of sweat already beading on his forehead as he was sketching a smile

"DON'T YOU GO SMARTASS ON ME, SHIKAMARU!" Naruto shouted at his general

"Naruto, please calm down" Gaara said in that matter-of-fact tone of his "Your wrath is understandable but it won't help in solving the situation." And then to the couple "Dating my sister is something I could forgive, Shikamaru-san. But impregnating her is a careless, uncalled-for move that will get you in very deep trouble."

"Temari-san" Hinata said with a betrayed voice "I have been warning you about all this! Didn't you even pay attention to what I've told you?" She suddenly clasp her hand at her mouth, realizing what she had done

"Honey! You knew about this?" Naruto asked with an equally betrayed look

Hinata faced her husband and sustained his scrutinizing eyes.

"I did. But since I didn't know what Temari-san was planning to do with her child, I reckoned it wasn't necessary to inform you before she took her decision. Besides, you had other things to worry about."

"I forgive you this time, Hinata, given the situation and given that it's the first time you conceal something from me. But never do this again under any circumstance." Naruto replied, comprehending

"I won't. I made a mistake. I am just…sorry"

"Told ya, it's forgiven. Don't mention it." He said as he embraced her comfortingly

"Hinata-san said she didn't know what you were planning to do with your child, Temari." The Kazekage asked his sister with a menacing stare "Were you intending to get rid of it?"

"I considered it for a while since I don't want to loose my status but I decide to keep and mother it."

"And I decide to father it." Shikamaru added

Gaara quieted down but remained unsympathetic in appearance. "These noble words are welcome, Shikamaru-san, and I will remember them. We don't have time to take a decision about this right now. Since our teams are already set I guess we can't cut you off the upcoming mission, can we Naruto?"

"Correct. We won't cut you off and I allow the both of you to accompany us. But when this mission is finished, you both will have to answer for this in front of Konoha's High Disciplinary Council, and Temari-san will also have to do so in front of her country's High Council." Naruto replied seriously "But for now, let's just forget about all this and focus on what's before us. Come with us now. Hinata, Matsuri-san, we leave this village to your care. Don't hesitate to use all the means at your disposal to defend it. I'm counting on you both."

"Alright" both women answered. They kissed their respective men goodbye and all four ninjas vanished out of the parlor.

"Well they're gone. I guess we also have to prepare, Matsuri-san."

"What do you mean?"

"ROOT will certainly try something now Naruto's gone. They must think we are weaker and thus easier to subdue. Then let's keep it on the red light, shall we."

"Right"

_Konoha's gates, 7:00 am__…_

They were all there, all three platoons were ready for the Hokage's orders. Naruto waved at Shikamaru, ordering him to expose his plans. Shikamaru complied.

"Attention me, everyone! Shino's team will take the lead. Their detection skills will help us if we are to encounter ROOT, Sound nins or any other people who'd try to prevent us from reaching Otogakure. The Hokage and the Kazekage will be next with my team. Kakashi's team will guard the rear."

"You're taking the same formation as the one we used for your first mission as a leader" Chouji remarked

"Right. I believe it's better not to disperse our forces, we'll be more successful that way."

Gai and Kurenai had come to see them off.

"I entrust our village and its citizens to you and Shizune for the time I'm gone. I ask you to protect Hinata at any price and help her out if needed. And you may obey her orders as if they'd come from me, is that clear?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama" both Jounins answered

"Good. Take care both of you!" And then to the awaiting commando "Alright! Everybody ready? Then let's move on!" he yelled. All shinobis leapt off to the trees and were soon out of sight.

Gai and Kurenai watched them disappear before walking back to the Hokage's building where Hinata was waiting for them.

_ROOT Headquarters, later this morning…_

"Amano-sempai, everything is going as scheduled. As you expected, they didn't leave out Shikamaru-dono and his Sand lover."

"It's not that bad in the end. I guess Danzo-sama used the report to bring them down and weaken them psychologically before we take on them. Hopefully it caused the Hokage to doubt his general. Is the ambush ready?"

"Yes. Everybody is ready. There is no way they'll reach for the Land of the Sound. We know it will be difficult for us to deal with the Hokafge but we'll do our best."

"I am glad to hear that, Rasetsumaru. Have you taken care of his wife?"

"We infused the drug in her sleep last night like we did to her father. It will take effect shortly. As for her father, he should likewise be severely toned down. We can only assume it will be enough.

"Well, we shouldn't underestimate any single one of them, that is true. But I doubt that someone as timid as the Hokage's wife will be strong enough to counter our attack. What about the resident clan heads?"

"We have similarly poisoned the drinks of the Ino-Shika-Cho seniors last night while they were too drunk to notice anything. They won't wake up until tomorrow morning. Tsume Inuzuka and Might Gai have also been taken care of, leaving only the Suna kunoichi and Shizune-san in the defense of the Hokage's wife."

"Gai will be easy to defeat with genjutsu. Shizune will be harder though and this is why she should be neutralized first. When those two are out of the picture, the Hokage's wife is as good as ours. You may also take the Sunan kunoichi in custody since she's the Kazekage's betrothed and can be useful later on for blackmail."

"You seem very confident about this, Amano-sempai"

"You must never take the power of will for granted, Rasetsumaru. A determined, unwavering will is able to bend fate the way you want it to. You can only win if you actually believe you're capable of it. That is the motto of the Land of Fire, our Will of Fire. Danzo-sama has given us his last orders because he knew he was to die. But his will live through us and this is why we'll do whatever it takes to fulfill his wishes. Now gather your men and get ready We'll soon begin."

"Alright"

Rasetsumaru went to the main training room were the surviving ROOT agents were lying in wait for him. Amano, on the other hand, pondered for a while.

_We can't go back now. The squad we sent over to stop the expedition to Otogakure will only serve as a means to slow them down. Of course they can't actually destroy such a powerful party. But at least Madara-sama will have enough time to get back to his base of operations. He will confront them on his own playground which will put them at a disadvantage. And then…_

_The Hokage's Parlor, 08:00 am…_

Kurenai entered the parlor with Gai. She would turn 40 in a couple of years, yet she still looked hot as hell. Her shoulder length, raven-coloured, wavy hair still fell naturally around her face. Her deep crimson eyes still had this intensity that made her beloved Asuma fall in love with her. With her teenage years long gone, the brunette vixen knew that, upon taking on such a line of work, she would never be able to live a fairytale-like kind of life. Yet, she was grateful that she could at least get all of these years of happiness with her late lover and the ones she was having with her child. Kyosuke would soon be able to start a regular training under Shikamaru and may then enter the Academy. She could hardly wait.

Kurenai particularly rejoiced over seeing just how far her former student had gone. The nearly invisible wallflower left in her care more than 8 years ago had evolved into a great kunoichi and was now Konoha's First Lady. Hinata for her part always considered Kurenai as her surrogate mother. Her own mother died long ago and she didn't have many memories from her. Thus, the kind and supportive woman who took care of her ever since her time in the academy took the job and did more than nice.

"Kurenai-sensei!" Hinata cheered as she recognized the woman

"Hello, Hinata. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine thanks. I am so happy you could come and help me out. I have many things to run today."

"It's my pleasure. So what have you planned today?"

"First, I need to…" She stopped. She didn't now why but she suddenly felt sick. Vertigo was insidiously creeping its way through her brain, making her stagger.

"Hinata-san, what's happening to you?" Matsuri asked as she aided the girl to stand correctly

"I… I don't know… Everything is…swirling…" she said as Matsuri sat her down on a chair.

"Quick! Gai go and tell Shizune to come immediately." Kurenai told the Green Beast who immediately flashed out of the scene

"Hang in there, Hinata-san! Shizune-san will soon be here!"

"Matsuri...san…out…side…" Hinata struggled to say

"What is outside?" But Hinata had fainted…

Matsuri rushed to the window just in time to see a dark figure jumping off to the rooftops of Konohagakure. ROOT!

_Shit!_ Rasetsumaru thought _the drug has acted too quickly and not in synch! We fucked it up! Amano-sempai will be mad!_

_The Land of Sound__, in the meantime…_

She was almost there. She managed to escape the illusions that surrounded Otogakure by dispersing herself completely all over the land, having taken different forms from a simple paper sheet to origami dragonflies, cockroaches or any type of insect small enough to go unnoticed and fast enough to escape in case they were spotted. Butterflies were too slow and Madara Uchiha was fast. She knew he would come back quicker than any other shinobi and the hard part was far from over. Only a part of her was on the other side of the illusion barriers and she still had to reshape herself after this which would leave her out of chakra. But if she stayed there, she would die in the end. She was sure of it after what she saw in that underground cave. And most of all, she loathed the idea of giving the bastard access to her body. Whatever it would take, she wouldn't let him have her.


	16. Battlefield Part 1 : Make It In Time

**A/N:** I apologize a thousand times for my late updates but since i am working full-time as of now, i have much less time for the fic. I am especially grateful for your patience and i will try to make the next chapter as quick as possible. Not to mention that i am also working on a NaruHina oneshot... But for now, Enjoy! The battle begins!

* * *

_Everything is going as scheduled. They must already be after me by now._

During all this time, all these decades, he had always been around, scheming and observing from the sidelines, coming up with long-term plans; all of which made possible thanks to his everlasting life. Ever since he was born, Madara Uchiha had gathered much more information than any other shinobi. Some of them would try to equate with him but none ever succeeded, not even the supposedly immortal Orochimaru. A part of his megalomaniac soul still lived on in the body of his personal bitch, Kabuto Yakushi. The White Snake had been purged out of Sasuke's body on two occasions: upon fighting his brother Itachi and upon battling with the Grand Master Uchiha. The second time, Orochimaru had been utterly destroyed at the hands of Madara himself who simply took him in his Sharingan and consigned the Sannin's soul to an alternate reality after consuming his chakra essence.

Despite having been defeated by Sasuke, Madara didn't die. It took him 2 years to completely heal the gaping hole that had been scorched through his chest. Three times his plans had been foiled by Konoha. First by the Shodaime, who somehow succeeded in defeating him during a very violent duel. Secondly, by the Fourth Hokage who eventually vanquished the Nine-Tailed Fox at the cost of his life and that of his wife. And third and ultimately, by their stupid offspring who "inherited" the Kyuubi's force and by his unfilial and just as stupid great-grandson. After weakening Madara sufficiently so he couldn't muster enough chakra to make himself intangible, Sasuke could wound him critically enough for the Immortal One to withdraw and hide to heal himself. The Shanringan saved Madara from a certain death one more time.

This time won't be the same, definitely. Except for one thing: Konohagakure. Because, at the end of the day, it all boiled down to this village who denied him leadership and who defeated him time and again. He had to destroy them by any means necessary. And, to that end, he had to get rid of their leader; his followers would only be small fry that he could easily wipe. Only then would he be able to take over the other nations and make them prosper, all in glory of the Uchiha clan. They had made him an outcast, what better revenge could there be? However, there was more than revenge to all this. Madara also needed to restore his clan and to prove himself. What interest would there be in having acquired immortality if you can't even do something for the world you live in?

He knew that most of his actions might have been tagged as "evil" or "horrible". But the point was that evil was necessary to achieve greater good. The world works a constant equilibrium between good and evil, light and darkness. And there is no such thing as all good. It simply doesn't exist. But people, be it shinobis or civilians, wouldn't understand such universal truths. Their limited lifetimes didn't allow them to. Madara did know that he caused massive, atrocious ravage. He did know that his countless victims never asked to suffer and die the way they did. He did know what he had done all this time. He understood it all and never rejected responsibility for all this. But it simply had to be done. He stood for the necessary evil, the indispensable part of darkness that existed in all things. The cornerstone that could make things better in the end, given due time. And this time he definitely wouldn't fail.

_At the same time, in the Land of Fire's forest…_

"ROOT will be waiting for us, I'm quite sure of it." Shino said in his usual matter-of-fact voice "Kiba stay alert for any suspicious smells. Hanabi-san, please scan our surroundings from time to time, just enough for you not to exhaust your chakra resources. I shall send a beetle scout ahead of us."

"Roger" both Jounins answered

"Shino-san, are you okay? You look really nervous…"

"We didn't take such a mission in quite a while. I hope we are not too rusty. Although our party is powerful, I highly doubt we'll be able to fight Madara Uchiha effectively all together. Apart form Kakashi-sensei, no one here possesses the Sharingan. What's more, Kakashi possesses only a lesser version of said bloodline limit. We are to fight anyways. Nothing guarantees that we won't be weakened before we take on the big one. That's why I think it would be better for you and Ino to stay on the sidelines during the upcoming battle. If someone's severely injured, we won't be able to heal them if you've used up your chakra reserves during the battles."

"If you expect me to stand by and do nothing, you're mistaken, Shino!"

"I never said that. I just said that your medical skills are more important to this mission than your superhuman strength. This is for the good of our comrades. Unless you have no consideration for our well-being and this mission's success…"

"That's not what I meant"

"Then do as I say. I'm your platoon's leader, I expect you to respect my orders. Are we clear?" Shino's eyes almost bore into her skull

"We are clear" she answered with constrained anger

"Good."

Not far behind, Naruto and Gaara were following them.

"It's the second time we take on a mission together. I'm glad I could be with you." Gaara said with a smile

"So am I. By the way, are you sure you won't be needed in Suna?"

"I received a messenger bird from Baki yesterday evening. He's got the situation under control and I have complete faith in him."

"Good. And as for the upcoming battle I still have to ask sensei about the barriers. We still don't know how to break through the first one, remember?"

"If I may, I believe now is not the time for unnecessary information. We will learn about it when we're on the spot. For now, let's just go ahead and brace ourselves. We are soon to encounter trouble."

"Right"

"By the way, don't you feel this a little too easy, a little too convenient?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, we all set out as scheduled, knowing ROOT would try to stop us somehow. They didn't even try to kill us on our sleep, they didn't try to misinform us about the Land of Sound. They are either very stupid, either very confident. ROOT agents are rarely stupid."

"What's your point, Gaara?"

"ROOT is certainly plotting to take over your village while we're away. They indirectly serve Madara Uchiha as you may already know. Danzo was connected to Akastsuki back in the days. They are but a mere smokescreen to hide Madara's plans. As of now, we have only seen the visible part of the iceberg. Something else is afoot."

Naruto almost tripped. The truth had dawned on him.

"**Holy Shit! Hinata!**"

_The Land of Sound borders, miles ahead…_

The exacting task was wearing her out. She was still in the process of reassembling herself to her human form and it took more time than she thought. Madara would soon be here; she had to hurry but couldn't go any faster right now or she would end up too exhausted to even run away when she would be done. What she would do right after, she wasn't sure yet.

All she knew is that she had to get away as quickly as possible and cut Madara loose. After that, she could still sneak into Konoha, surrender to the authorities and get back to where she was before he abducted her. Hopefully. She just hoped she could make it in time…

_Konoha, ROOT headquarters, a little later this morning…_

"You fucking idiot!"

His fist crashed in his subordinate's face.

"You fucked it all up with a simple dosage mistake, do you feel that? If the Hokage's wife is able to defend herself properly, then we're screwed! There is no way we could poison them all again tonight!"

"I apologize, Amano-sempai"

"Enough! We have no time to waste! We must strike before they can set up any defense."

The tall, dark-haired ROOT senior turned towards his fellows.

"Listen to me! This is how we are going to do it! Moriya you take your unit with you and you invade the Hospital. You put out anyone trying to get in your way. And I said anyone, are we clear?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Ofuyo! You and all the kunoichis take on the academy and take control of all the Genins. Treat them as hostages and don't hesitate to dispose of their teachers and caretakers if you need to."

"All right!" a choir of feminine voices answered

"Rasetsumaru! Your sorry ass and I will lead the main squad to the Hokage's building. When we have subdued the Hokage's wife, ANBU will have no other option than to back down. After that, the Village is as good as ours. You shall report to me in case of any problem. Now let's go!"

The renegades all set out. The rampage could start…

_Konoha's Hospital's pharmacy, meanwhile…_

"That should be enough for you, Gai-san" Shizune said after she took the syringe away

"Thanks Shizune-san. Have you gathered all what you needed?"

"Yes I did. Let's set out now. My attendants shall take care of the rest."

"Good"

The man with the green jumpsuit took her on his back without asking and took the medical kit in one hand.

"Gai-san, what the…"

"Excuse my rudeness, Shizune-san but we have no time to waste. We'll go quicker if I carry you"

"But…oh well… If you say so"

"Now let's go"

Both vanished and rushed off to the Hokage's building, as fast as Gai could. Shizune was really impressed to see that Gai felt next to no handicap by carrying her. Hopefully they could make it in time before…

_The Land of Fire's forest…_

They were moving on still. Right behind the first platoon, the Kazekage and the Hokage were discussing feverishly.

"We can't go back now, Naruto. Your wife will be just fine. Don't you trust her?"

"I do trust her. But I couldn't forgive myself if anything happened to her because of me!"

"What do you mean because of you? You're not the one to blame for anything, are you? And she's not alone. Matsuri, Gai-san and Shizune-san are there to help her out. Sorry to repeat myself bu she will be fine!"

"Don't you fear for Matsuri, Gaara?"

"I do but I trust her. I taught her anything I could. She's stronger now than she ever thought she would be. And I know she will not fail me. She will not fail Hinata-san either."

Naruto didn't answer. After all, he was right. Going back just now would be stupid. He couldn't send back a unit either. Against Madara, they couldn't afford to ease off. Behind them, Shikamaru and his division were calmly following. This silent attitude didn't fail to unnerve Ino and Chouji.

"What's the matter with you two?" Ino asked "We don't hear you a bit…"

"Should we be speaking?" Temari answered "We just happen to like some quiet time every once in a while."

"Cut the crap! When you two are together you can't help but insulting one another or bickering about trivial things. I know! You broke up, right?"

"Ino, shut it! We should be concentrating, not talking!" Shikamaru snapped "And, for the last time, WE.ARE.NOT.DATING!"

"Just who do you think you're fooling? Quit trying to…"

"Ino-san, that's it! Now is definitely not the time! And now **you** will quit harassing Shikamaru-dono and Temari-san about unimportant matters."

Ino was flabbergasted. Out of all people present, she never expected Lee to talk to her that way. Chouji, Temari and Shikamaru were similarly surprised but didn't react.

"Hey you! Who do you think you're talking to? I don't recall ever allowing you to even address to me." The slender blonde patronized

"No offence, Ino-san but you are getting on my nerves. The situation does not allow us to be slack. We need to focus. Besides, I also noticed our general and his paramour are being unusually quiet but their reasons are none of our business."

Ino brightened up immediately.

"Lee, thank you! You just **know** they are seeing each other, don't you?"

"Well, if this will give you peace, yes I do."

Both lovers were now red with shame and anger.

"WILL YOU ALL JUST KNOCK IT OFF?!" Temari exploded "I'm **not **fucking this sexist or anybody else for that matter, okay??"

"More denial? Well you just confessed that you two got in the sack, Temari dear…" Ino chuckled

"Ino, I am going to…to…" The Sunan girl's fists were already clenching on her fan

"Well, then. Is Shika a great lover?"

"THE FUCK WOULD I KNOW?"

"Okay, okay. Shikamaru, is Temari good in bed?"

"Chouji, please shut her up or I strangle her." Shikamaru told his snickering best friend as he rubbed the bridge of his nose

"Shut up y'all!" a loud voice from behind interrupted "Do I need to remind you that we must remain discreet?"

"But Anko-sensei, we…"

"We nothing! You shut up, you stay watchful and you go ahead, got it?"

"Yes" everyone answered

"Good."

"Aren't you being a little harsh?"

"If you don't want to keep your own team in check, that's your problem Kakashi. I'll take the job for you when needed."

"Still being pleasant and friendly as always, Anko-san!" Yamato quipped

"Got a problem with that?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt but we should stop right now." Neji put in "They are here."

"You mean…" Kakashi started "Dammit, they're already there?"

"Yes they are!"

In the front, Kiba also warned his fellows…

"I smell them. They are encircling us."

"How many of them?" Shino asked

"Leave this to me" Hanabi said as she activated her bloodline "BYAKUGAN!"

"So how much do you see?"

"Oh my… There are…hundreds of them…"

"WHAT? Are you sure? Are they not using clones or anything?"

"Not at all…"

"Shit! Naruto! Gaara! We are surrounded! We must stop!"

"Alright Shino! EVERYONE DOWN!" Naruto shouted

The whole expedition set foot on the ground.

"Shino, where are they coming from?" Shikamaru asked

"I could only see a few of them. They were using the Invisibility Justsu and my beetles are now telling that they're coming mostly from the northwest, from the Land of the Sound."

"There are hundreds of them, they are coming fast" Neji said

"Okay then. Naruto, if you allow me…"

"We're listening to you, Kakashi-sensei."

"Putting it simply, we shouldn't split right away. I was kinda wandering just how they would attack us but if they come en masse we must stay all together until their number is sufficiently diminished. To begin, we may try to keep the most part at bay so we can locate them precisely. Neji and Hanabi will start off by making a protective shell around us. Then all long range types such as Temari and TenTen will start attacking them from afar. Yamato, you will also use your Mokuton to strike the hidden ones. This will be a good start."

"Do you think that will be enough?" Anko asked

"Certainly not but this where all the rest of us will step in."

"I'm sorry to interrupt but we should act now. I can see them coming dangerously closer" Shino interjected

"Okay then. Neji? Hanabi?"

Both nins stood back against back and took the Gentle Fist stance.

"Hanabi-san, you ready"

"Yes"

_In the Hokage's building, at the same time…_

"Thank you Shizune" Kurenai said "Will she soon be back with us?"

"Don' worry, I'll make sure she comes back right now." With that, Shizune slapped Hinata hard across her face, waking her up in the bargain and baffling everyone present

"Huh…Where…"

"Sorry Lady Hinata. I had to act quickly! Hope I didn't hurt you too much…"

"No, it's alright… I just have…an atrocious migraine…"

"Well maybe if you take some…"

The windows crashed open as three ROOT agents burst in. Their black outfit was completed by mid-face masks, like the one of Kakashi.

"What's the meaning of this?" Hinata asked, already taking a fighting stance despite her weakened state

"We're sorry, Lady Hinata. But we are taking you as a hostage. Don't struggle and no one will be hurt."

"BYAKUGAN!" Hinata shouted. She could see that at least 50 ROOT were all around the building. It was battle time!

"Stand back, Hinata-san. I'll take care of them!" Matsuri said as she went into several quick hand signs

"**Dancing Ropes Jutsu"**

A set of four jouhyous sprung from her sleeves and went straight at the opponent while a fifth one was swirling around her as a protection. Two went at the largest offender and tied his feet tight before proceeding to strangle him while the other two tied up together the remaining opponents who weren't expecting the seemingly weak Sunan to attack them in the first place.

"That's 3 contained but more are coming. Good job by the way Matsuri-san!" Hinata said

"We'll take on them." Gai stated "Kurenai, please take the First Lady away from here. Those shits want her so she must be outta here!"

"Alright!" Kurenai waved her hands and took Hinata with her

"Kurenai-sensei, wait! I want to…"

"**Vanishing Leaves Illusion"**

Kurenai and Hinata disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

"Alright, it's now time to deal with the scum!" Gai said enthusiastically "I was beginning to rust!"

All three defenders rushed to the corridor where a bunch of black clad was waiting for them.

"Get back you two!" Shizune commanded before taking a deep breath

"**Poison Mist Jutsu"**

The Hospital's chief exhaled a purple acrid cloud filled with extremely potent poisons. She closed the parlor's door and all three leapt out of the building where agony screams and heavy coughs could be heard. Outside, a few more renegades lunged at them. Gai ordered the women to stay back as he took his typical stance.

"**Hidden Leaf Hurricane"**

With a powerful set of circular kicks, all ROOT shinobis were kayoed.

"Dammit, they're coming from everywhere!" Shizune said as she prepared her needle shooting device.

"We won't hold out long if they are so numerous!" Matsuri added

"Don't worry, the Green Beast is here to save the day!" Gai cheered with a "nice guy" pose "Besides, where are all the other Jounins? I don't see them anywhere! They should already be coming to back us up…"

"I don't know! But it's not time to worry about this!" Shizune replied as a fire user threw an enormous fireball at them which crushed the house on which they were standing.

"We need to stop them! They'll destroy everything!" Gai yelled

As all three were about to strike, the earth suddenly grew lush scrubs and trees that entangled the renegades as well as them. A flower formed itself from an adjoining branch and out came Kurenai.

"What are you doing, bitch? Is this genjutsu or some shit like this?" one the ROOT asked angrily

"Yes, but it's too late for you to break through it. You and your confederates are already out of the picture." The red eyed beauty answered coldly as the stems that were holding her opponents turned to sprouts and engulfed them and choked them to death. She ended her jutsu and released her comrades.

"Sorry about this, I couldn't take them all out if I didn't take you in the genjutsu as well…" she apologized with a guilty smile

"It's alright, Kurenai." Shizune replied "We're more than grateful! By the way where is Lady Hinata?"

"I'm right here!" a voice answered from one of the rooftops. Hinata smiled gently and jumped off the roof to join her fellows

"ROOT acted as we expected. I have scanned the whole village to spot our fellows and it turns out they have all been poisoned the same way I have been. They had planned this. There are more ROOT agents trying to take the Hospital and some others have broken into the Academy."

"Not to mention that **we **are now your adversaries." Someone said from behind

All them turned around and saw two ROOT walking towards them. The tallest one had a red mask that contrasted violently with his black attire while the second one had flashy green hair.

"My name is Yamazaki Amano. I am the second in command of ROOT." The tall one with black hair and the red mask said "I am here on the orders of Danzo-sama to take Lady Hinata into custody as well as the Sunan kunoichi. Shizune-san, Gai-san, step aside and no one will get hurt."

_The Land of the Sound borders, a little later…_

Konan was almost there. A few more sheets and she could run free. She felt a tad of hope dawning on her. Maybe fate would go easy on her this time. And there she was. She had made it and she could at last move. She was completely out of chakra but it didn't matter. Konan began to run when she felt a familiar chakra coming her way.

_Oh no! He's already here! I need to conceal my presence quickly! _She thought as she searched the area for a hiding spot

Madara was already activating his Sharingan to check on his own hideaway. When he noticed that Konan's chakra was missing, it didn't take much longer for him to notice that her chakra was actually somewhere he didn't expected. She had tried to escape after all. Well, if this is how they were to play, so it. He stopped near the bush she was hiding in.

"I see you tried to get away from me one more time, Konan. No need to hide anymore, I've spotted you."

_Shit! All this for fucking nothing!_ She thought as she stood up in plain sight.

"Seriously, what made you think you could possibly stand a chance?"

"At least I have tried. There is nothing to regret."

"Good for you. Now I suggest you come with me and explain to me why you've tried such a stupid move."

"I'm sorry, Madara-sama. I have not enough chakra to follow you."

"Not a problem"

Madara holstered her in his arms and carried her towards his retreat. Konan loathed his contact but she had no other option at the moment. She thought of her beloved Pein and soon felt a little better. But she was in deeper waters than she was before. And Madara was taking her back to his lair…

_Somewhere else in the Land of Fire…_

"**Twin Heavenly Spin: 128 Palms"**

As all their comrades braced themselves to receive strong winds, both Hyugas jumped high and began to spin faster and faster in the air, sending chakra threads all around them, carefully avoiding their comrades that were gathered under them. All around, a devastated landscape of leveled trees and scattered vegetation replaced the forest. Both cousins went on spinning for a few seconds more before slowing down and gradually dropping back to the ground. All around them, they could make out human corpses among the sliced trunks and the crushed rocks. Soon, survivors emerged from the debris and reinforcement showed up in plain sight. Temari whipped out her fan and bit on her thumb.

"Get behind me y'all and cling to something!"

"**Summoning: Slashing Winds Dance"**

Kamatari appeared in a puff of smoke before swooping down on a whole platoon of ROOT agents who had no time to react before a powerful tornado blew them away and smashed them to death. Their comrades, for their part, had finished the setup.

A one-eyed captain said to his subordinates "Are you finished?" he spoke in his walkie-talkie.

"Goro, post 1, ready" a first one said

"Shun, post 2, ready"

"Aoi, post 3, ready"

"Kato, post 4, ready"

"Alright then! At my command…" the captain said before leaping above the Konohans and their allies

"**Everyone! Look out!" **Shino said as he spotted the 4 renegades thanks to his beetles. He was about to strike at the ROOT man who was hovering over them but it was already too late

"**FIRE!"**

"**Fire Style: Firebird Pyramid Jutsu"**

Before anyone could react, four blazing birds of prey raised around the depression formed by Neji and Hanabi earlier, and joined a fifth one in the sky. A pyramid of fire soon emerged from the ground, destroying everything inside it…

_The Land of Sound, a thousand miles ahead from the scene…_

"What was that?" Konan asked as she heard the noise of an exploding volcano

"Looks like your saviors are in serious trouble" Madara answered "Well, I guess you should forget about them getting you, at least for now…"

Konan remained stoic but inside, she felt like crying. All this gruesome violence, was it really necessary? After witnessing so much horrible things, she was getting tired of seeing people die. She knew it was foolish to think peace could actually last but now, she only wished for it. She wished for a world were she could rest her head a little, where she could be happy for a little while. But before anything else, she had to get away from the man whose embrace felt like a snake preparing to squeeze the life out of her…


	17. Battlefield Part 2 : C'mon! Bring it On!

**A/N : **A sprained ankle with subsequent thrombosis... This is what it took for me to muster enough time to updtae my fic and submit a NaruHina oneshot!! Well anyways, here is the longest chapter so far! With the next already on the way, enjoy the update.

Special Thanks to AyaseReincarnated for the steady reviews ,WalkingMaelstrom and Ramachan for their support and inspiration!

_Konohagakure, late morning…_

All four nins were forming a protective barrage in front of Hinata who was regaining her full strength little by little. She took advantage of the customary staredown to scan the village one more time. The Academy, the Hospital, the Hokage's Tower… They were attacking all the neural points. Well thought and with most of their Jounin fellows out of order, they were at a disadvantage. However, she could see Iruka, Genma and Ebisu trying to fend off the ROOT kunoichis in the Academy but they wouldn't hold out long enough not to mention that they might have been given the drug as well. They had to organize something quickly.

"I have decided how we're gonna do this." She said "Gai-san, Shizune-san, you go the Hospital and get rid of the ROOT shinobis over there. Treat them as full-blown enemies but don't kill them if it's not necessary. Take the curative medicines and give it to our fellow Jounins and meet me here once you're done. Kurenai-sensei, Matsuri-san, go help Iruka-san in the Academy. I will take care of those two."

"But Hinata…"

"It's an order. I believe in you all so I expect this trust to be reciprocated"

"Hinata-sama, the Hokage has made it clear that he wanted us to protect you." Gai pleaded "We won't ignore his words"

"Then you should also remember he asked you to treat my orders as if they were from him, don't you?"

Gai could only nod.

"Then do as I say. I'll be fine, don't worry. Now be gone, we don't have time on our side."

"Alright." Everyone answered

"Be careful Hinata."

"I will, Kurenai-sensei"

All but the Hyuga heiress blinked out.

"Well then gentlemen, it's done to you and me right now!" Hinata told her opponents

"With you bodyguards you had at least half a chance, Lady Hyuga. But on your own, you're as good as ours. So I suggest you surrender quietly." Amano said with a wry smile behind his red mask.

Hinata took the Gentle Fist's stance

"Come at me" she challenged

_Somewhere else, between the Land of Fire and the Land of Sound…_

The area was completely wrecked. No way could they have survived. The smoke was still too thick for them to actually see anything.

"It's done, Saisyu-taicho. Looks like they're not as tough as we thought."

"Too early to be positive about anything, Goro."

The one-eyed ANBU captain watched carefully as the smoke slowly dispersed. He eventually glimpsed perfectly shaped sphere standing right in the middle of the ravaged land. As the odd sculpture eventually collapsed to dust, all could see 14 silhouettes standing out in the smoke.

"Nice Gaara!" Naruto said "You still got it!"

The Kazekage smiled in return but didn't answer as the sand he used to protect his comrades flew back in its gourd.

_As I assumed, it hadn't been enough, t_he captain thought, _but we're just getting started here. _

At that very moment, Saisyu saw a young kunoichi leaping high over them. A scroll was unfurling in her wake and formed a graceful arc over their heads.

"**Steel Rain Jutsu"**

TenTen had struck. And steel did rain. In the form of a million swords, kunais, scythes, lancets, needles and halberds skewering anyone who hadn't run away quickly enough.

"Wow! The little weakling has become way more violent than before! At least she can manage some decent shit right now"

"Watch your mouth, Sand Lady! Keep your unwelcome wit to yourself or I might get back at you for this and what you did to her back in the days!"

"Shall I remind you who beat the shit, no wait, **tried to kill** his own cousin back in the same days, Neji?"

"Enough you two!" Kakashi disciplined "Save your fighting spirit for later. Neji did you manage to locate them all?"

"Yes" the young man answered after glowering at Temari who returned the favor "The first attacks have greatly diminished their ranks but we're still fairly outnumbered."

"Okay. Then I suggest we split. Shikamaru? Shino?"

"I agree with you"

"So do I"

Even though Naruto and Gaara were technically in charge, both respected the experience of the Copy Ninja. But the final decision still belonged to them.

Both Kages shared a look before dispatching orders.

"Gaara and I will attack their chief and his guards. Kakashi-sensei, Shino and Shikamaru, you and your squads split and pretend to flee. Their mission is most likely to delay us; thus they will follow you. When you have lured them far enough from their comrades, you do whatever you want with them but we mustn't leave anyone behind. None of you should go alone at this. Gaara and I will have these radio transmitters with us at all times just like your squads' leaders. We must be done with them before nightfall. Are we clear?"

"Alright!" Everyone answered before splitting and blinking out of sight.

In the ROOT ranks, Saisyu was observing.

"They are so predictable. But I guess they'll find out soon enough that they have made a huge mistake!"

_In Otogakure, Madara's lair, in the meantime…_

She was exhausted. Fortunately, Madara was merciful enough to give her 4 food pills that replenished her chakra reserves quite rapidly but she felt woozy all the same. He had laid her down in the same room he had left her the first time but now she really felt that she was in danger.

"Now that you're more or less able to speak, justify yourself. Why did you try such a stupid move?" Madara inquired

She didn't answer right away, trying to regain some countenance but soon decided to confront him.

"Why you ask? For 3 reasons which are quite easy to understand I suppose. First off, I'm not stupid; I have already figured out that you've been lying to me since the beginning. Second, I saw what's inside the damn cellar, I have my guess about what you're about to do with it and I want to be no part of it. Third, the simple thought of feeling your penis inside me makes me want to vomit. I believe I have made myself clear…"

Madara tried to look hurt and disappointed.

'_What a shitty actor!' _Konan thought

"Really?" his tone was cold "Well if you have seen what's inside the basement I assume you know that there is no way that I will ever let you leave this place then."

"Sure. Else, you kill me, right?"

"Already told you. It's not my interest to have you dead."

"Of course, not right away, I know that. But once my role is fulfilled I'll have to leave the stage right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Stop taking me for some clueless bimbo! My brother-in-law only succeeded in containing the Fox by sealing it into his newborn and anybody knows that the mother of a Jinchuriki dies upon delivery. Normally, only a Sharingan user can control this particular Tailed Beast, I know that. But I also know that you barely succeeded in doing so back then. You may have improved but do you really think you can control two of them? What is lying underground, is it a clone or something?"

"It's not a true clone. It's just the other form of the Kyuubi. The Nine-Tailed Vixen, which is considered the more powerful of the two."

"Where did you find it?"

"That's unnecessary information for you."

She rolled her eyes "Okay and then I suppose you're going to use the child I might bear as a container, right?"

"Not exactly, not this way."

Konan didn't reply and simply lifted one of her inexistent eyebrow. It was a silent question mark.

"I captured it in order to control the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. If those two forces were to ever meet, their respective containers would simply disintegrate from the energy burst thus provoked, putting your worthless nephew out of the picture…"

"…and causing major havoc and utter destruction of the Lands, ain't it? And you'll just seal one of the beasts inside our offspring afterwards so it can benefit from both your bloodline and the Bijuu's limitless chakra reserves. I'm pretty sure you don't even know what to do with the other Kyuubi. Kill it? Shove it in that alternate dimension of yours where Orochimaru is already rotting? Or simply arrange my womb so it can produce twins or some shit like this? Your great-grandsons' goals were simply unoriginal and stupid with that vengeance thingy but now I see just who he learnt it from…"

"Stop giving me attitude, Konan! Don't forget who you're talking to!" he spat back at her frostbitten sarcasm

She didn't flinch and shook her head.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Madara asked irritably

"I thought you were somewhat of a genius but it turns out you are just insane! And childish, moreover. I prefer dying over being a part of your ludicrous schemes by quite some margin." She stood up and made her way to the door.

"Where do you think you're going? Your role is vital in my plans and since you won't help me out of free will, I'll make you."

He yanked her by the hair, threw her on the wobbly bed and proceeded to rip her garments.

"What the hell are you doing?!" She yelled as she realized what he had in mind

"Shut up!" He slapped her across the face, hard. Konan didn't hesitate and made splinters spring from her body as she turned her left arm into a paper blade.

"Back off! Get away from me!" she shrieked

A slightly wounded Madara smirked at her and soon his eyes turned to red.

"If you don't want to turn me on, Konan, stop resisting! Oh well, I didn't want to do it that way but you leave me no choice. It will be much less pleasurable for both of us."

The Sharingan enveloped her in an instant, making her defenseless in the bargain. She knew that only a few seconds were happening in the real world but he could torture her for what would seem like days if he wanted to.

"Now choose Konan. You let me do what I want to you or else I shatter your astral form so hard you shall remain comatose for at least a week, which will allow me to rape you all I want and, trust me, I won't hold back. **Choose!**" the last Uchiha commanded

Konan didn't answer right away. She knew that she couldn't do anything against him where she was. She framed an idea in the nick of time.

"Alright. I accept to bear your child." She said, seemingly resigning herself to the inevitable

"Reasonable choice." Madara said, ending his justu and taking back on what he was doing to her a while before, but less violently. "Let me do and I assure you that it won't feel that bad."

_Yeah, like hell it will!_ She thought

_Somewhere else, between Konohagakure and Otogakure…_

Shikamaru's party was going forward to the land of Sound, a fair number of ROOTs on their tail.

"Ino! Do it now!" the Nara heir ordered

"Alright!"

The Yamanaka girl turned around and went through several hand signs.

"**Mind Confusion Technique : Stun!"**

The 6 ROOTs that pursued them found themselves unable to stand correctly and became easy preys for Lee who rushed over to them.

"**Lotus Whirlwind Combo!"**

A hail of well-aimed powerful kicks made a quick job of the ROOT pursuers. But it wasn't over yet, far from it. As Lee quickly vanished out of sight, the new batch of attackers was welcomed by a giant hand that simply rammed them a few miles back. It was Chouji's turn to enter the arena.

"**Complete Body Expansion Technique!"**

The ROOT ranks stopped dead as Chouji turned into a menacing giant talking down to them:

"Alright, you scum! This is the last chance we give you to surrender. If you don't, I'll plain flatten you like pancakes!"

Down below, the enemy was too flabbergasted to make a move just yet. However, it didn't take long for them to strike back. One of the traitors waved his hands …

"**Earth Style: Limbo Swamp Jutsu" **

"Oh no! **Chouji**!!" Ino screamed

Under Chouji's feet, the ground became smarmy. The giant tried to flounder his way out but ooze worked like quicksand: the more you moved, the quicker you sank. The black haired man with very dark skin smirked:

"You got a little cocky here, fatass! Not to mention that the mud is toxic. You don't need to ingurgitate it or to wallow in it, your skin's pores will absorb enough …AAARGH!"

A dozen shadow threads were scorching through the man's body. His team mates stood aghast at the vision. When they heard Shikamaru's incantation, it was already too late to react.

"**Shadow Tendrils Jutsu : Umbrage Punishment"**

The same threads that killed the dark skinned man a while ago slithered under the ninjas' feet and impaled the ones who didn't flee fast enough. The unwholesome sight of skewered bodies appalled even Temari who turned away.

"I didn't know you could be so brutal…"

"If anyone hurts you or Chouji, this is what will happen to them. No exceptions. Now take that fan of yours and fly over to help Chouji out of this marsh. Lee, I leave the last three to your care. Just let one of them live, we'll take whatever info they may have. Ino, prepare to heal our friend. I'll watch out for any attack."

"Alright." Everybody answered. Shikamaru still remained a general, no matter how lazy he was.

Lee went after the runaway traitors. As it was, no one in Konoha could match his speed (except Gai) and it didn't take long for him to catch up with them. He whipped out his forearm bandages to ensnare the tallest one and his yellow haired confederate and jumped high in the sky.

"**Green Hurricane: Falling Trees Jutsu"**

Lee made his adversaries swirl around him before freefalling head first onto the ground. A cloud of dust concealed the impact from the beholding burgundy haired kunoichi. She tried to vanish by using genjutsu but Lee grabbed her from behind and immobilized her.

"Please let me go!" she begged "I promise I won't try anything against any of you!"

"Sorry lady, not possible. I am taking you with me. Depending on our captain's decision, we might let you run away. But for now…"

Lee simply put two fingers behind her ears and knocked the woman out by applying a mild pressure there. He holstered her on his shoulders and brought her back to Shikamaru.

On the battle's premises, Chouji was reverting to his normal appearance to try and get a grip of Temari's hand. But Chouji was too heavy. Even for someone as strong as Suna's ambassadress. They had to act quickly, they didn't know just how noxious was the ooze.

"Chouji-san, try to seize the fan itself!" Temari said

"Right"

Temari eventually succeeded to extirpate the Akmichi heir from the deathtrap and flew towards an already waiting Ino who jumped and squeezed him as soon as he touched the ground.

"My teddy bear! Are you okay? Don't scare me like that!"

Chouji's face went as red as his shirt, causing Temari and Shikamaru to give him one of their shit-eating grin.

"I will be. But don't call me that in front of people it's embarrassing!"

"Oh, come on! That was just cute!" Temari giggled

"More importantly, let me examine these wounds, Chouji. Remove your shoes and your pants, so I can heal you"

"But… Uh…"

"What?"

"Well… I don't have any underwear on…" he said, blushing again

Everyone present burst out with laughter.

"C'mon Temari, let's just look the other way. We wouldn't want to offend poor old Chouji's decency!"

"Shit!" The Konoha blonde bombshell exclaimed "The ooze has already attacked his feet and his knees!"

"Anything serious?"

"Well, it will take some time. His feet are starting to show some sort of necrosis. I may be able to cure this but he can't move at the moment."

"Take your time, Ino" Shikamaru said "We'll be tipped off by Naruto if we must go back to the main field. I'm sure he's handling it good. Temari and I will wait for Lee and his captive."

"Shikamaru…" the blonde Sunan said

"Yes, what's up?"

"I'm feeling weird… Like I'm gonna be sick or something…"

"What…"

Shikamaru's radio transmitter beeped just at that moment.

"Speak!" he said a little riled up

"Naruto here! Do you hear me?"

"Shikamaru here, 5/5!"

_In Konoha's Academy, meanwhile…_

"I suggest you give up" A female voice patronized

Iruka was kneeling on the floor, holding an injured shoulder. It happened so quickly… He was just teaching his pupils as usual when a black clad female broke into the room and immediately attacked him. He reacted swiftly enough to avoid her fire attack but soon she had been joined by other kunoichis. It was an invasion! In the other classrooms, Aoba, Ebisu and Genma had also been assaulted and subdued. The surprise effect was a success and soon the scared Genins were to the mercy of the ROOT kunoichis.

"Ofuyo-taicho! We have dealt with the other Jounins, they are out of it. He is the last one." A silver-haired young female said as she stormed in

"Very good. I'll just finish this myself" the tan-skinned woman said as she walked menacingly towards the wounded instructor.

"You won't get away with this, bitch! Once our comrades find out, you'll be stone dead!" Iruka threatened

"Quit being such a cliché and think of your beloved students…" Ofuyo said as she grabbed one of the Genins "Needless to say that if you continue resisting, they may pay for it…" She put a kunai at the throat of the young boy who remained calm "So what's it gonna be?"

Iruka grunted and spat on the floor in utter contempt but tossed his kunai pouch at the feet of the invader as a sign of capitulation. Konoha's new generation was more important than anything else, even his own pride.

"Looks like being a teacher put some wisdom in your sorry head, Iruka-san!" Ofuyo taunted "Now you…"

She couldn't talk any further. Sprouts, branches and stems were shooting through the walls and already entangling her as well as her subordinates.

"Shit! It's genjutsu! Don't fall for it, girls! Try to dispel it!" She yelled

"It's too late for you already, wench." The voice was coming from nowhere. Looming out of a catkin, Kurenai proceeded to smother Ofuyo, forcing her to let go of the boy she was holding.

Iruka snatched away said boy after knocking out Ofuyo's team mate with a sock at the nape of the neck.

The illusion ended, leaving 2 ROOT kunoichis lifeless on the floor and another one knocked out.

"Iruka! You okay?" Kurenai inquired

"I'll be. It's not serious, just the shoulder. How are the others doing?" Iruka said

"I have no idea for the moment. We have to get rid of these ROOT girls first. Then you and the other instructors shall be able to take the kids to safety."

"Is Kyosuke alright?" Iruka asked

"Yes, he is with his 'babysitter' at home. I checked up on him before we came here."

"Good."

Iruka stood up, teeth gritted in pain and addressed his still bewildered pupils

"Alright kids! Anybody injured?"

"No" a unison of juvenile voices answered

"Good. For the moment, you may stay there until we tell you otherwise. If anything happens, don't be afraid to call out for help. Understood?"

"Yes, Iruka-sensei!" all kids answered

"Matsuri!" Kurenai called "Come now!"

Matsuri appeared in a flash.

"I've been searching the building. Ebisu-san is wounded. He is located in the first floor and his students are kept in check. Genma-san has been captured and lies in one this floors classroom with his captors. I'm afraid Aoba-san is down. He's been stabbed in the chest, I don't know if he survived or not. There are also staff members which are gathered in the first floor along with the remainder of the pupils."

"Alright. We'll go after these girls and try to clear you a path so you can bring the kids to safety."

"Iruka, with your slashed shoulder, you'd be a liability if we take you along. Stay there for the moment and keep the watch. Matsuri, we'll start by freeing Genma and then we'll launch the big time."

"Right"

Both kunoichis vanished, leaving Iruka to guard the frightened pupils.

_A while later, in Konoha's Hospital…_

The Hospital's staff didn't actually resist for the sake of the wounded and the sick. Sai was among them, his wounds were still healing and he couldn't do anything to help. Moriya and his acolytes took control quite easily of the Hospital, without any bloodshed which was more than desirable for both parties. When Gai and Shizune arrived on the premise, there were no outward signs of an invasion but it didn't take long before they noticed the black silhouettes mingling among the white blouses of the medics.

"Firsthand I need to get to the pharmacy of the 4th floor and then I'll be able to go and cure our fellow Jounins." Shizune said

"Well then, let's not waste any more time!" Gai said after stretching summarily "Follow me and guard my rear, Shizune-san ! I'll cut our path in!"

"But Gai-san… Shouldn't we at least plan something?"

"The more time this takes, the more difficult it will be for us to fend off these guys. Trust the fire of youth and try to keep up with me!"

Gai gave one of his winks before rushing towards the Hospital's gates and assaulting the sentinels head on.

"**Dynamic Entry!"**

The sentinels couldn't even manage to set up any defense and flew right toward the bottom of the hall, alerting all the other nins in the bargain. But it took more than a bunch of traitorous spies to deter the Green Beast. Shizune arrived at his side.

"Shizune-san! They are too numerous!" Gai said as he heard a stampede from the upper floors "I can't handle them all the way it is right now! Can you hold them off for a short while? I'm going to open the 5th Gate!"

"I can but don't take too long!" she answered

"Don't worry!"

Gai took the standard chakra moulding stance and began to make the wind whirl around him.

"**First Gate: Open!"**

Shizune was keeping a careful watch. She couldn't use her signature poison gas attack since she and Gai would be equally caught in it. The wind around Gai was whirling quicker and his skin was beginning to redden.

"**Second Gate : Open!"**

A trio of ROOT nins showed up in the left corridor. But this batch didn't have the time to take action. Shizune quickly fired a salvo of poisoned needles from her forearm device that hit two of the opponents in the stomach and the neck respectively. The last one dodged it while his hands flashed in a set of signs.

"**Water Style : Water Wheel Jutsu!"**

A water orb rolled all through the corridor towards the medic kunoichi who had no time to put up a worthy counterattack.

"**Third Gate: Open!" **Gai shouted as flames of green energy began to encircle him "Get behind me, Shizune-san! The energy will be enough to repel this."

Shizune complied and the dangerous water projectile literally exploded upon striking Gai's energy field. His skin was now turning to dark red. Shizune jumped aside and blew 2 other needles off her mouth at their enemy who couldn't avoid them this time and fell to the floor next to his companions.

"**Fourth Gate: Open!"**

Another team would surely step in soon. Shizune just hoped Gai could be done before that. She took advantage of the brief timeout to load her forearm device and to put on a pair of razor-sharp poisoned gabishis on each middle finger. She braced herself for the next attack but fortunately, her comrade uttered the 3 words she wanted to hear as the water on the floor turned to steam, concealing them from the ROOT squad who had just appeared at the staircase's door.

"**Fifth Gate: Open! **Stay behind me, Shizune-san! We're going in!" Gai's skin now displayed a reddish brown hue and swollen veins. His muscles had tensed up so much that it seemed they would utterly crack his jumpsuit open. His eyes had turned completely white. Piercing through the vapor, Gai rushed towards the staircase with Shizune in his wake…

_On the Battlefield, at the same time…_

Saisyu just had the time to evade TenTen's attack with some of his minions but the most part of his squad had been at best mutilated. He only had the time to observe the dispersion of the Konohan forces before being faced by the Hokage and the Kazekage themselves.

"You are the leader of this expedition, aren't you?" Gaara inquired

"I am."

"Let's go straight to the point: I suppose you are here on the orders of Danzo. News flash, Danzo is dead. We're on our way to put an end to the activities of an S-class criminal who doesn't give a shit about you fools. The point is: what do you think you can get out of this? It's a very simple and relevant question which calls for an equally simple and relevant answer if you wish to have your lives spared." Naruto said, already preparing a Rasengan

"Well, let's say Danzo-sama is not the only one who ordered this expedition." Saisyu replied condescendingly "As for our motives, I'll just let you figure them out. But I suggest you retreat quietly and order your troops to do the same because, if you were to reach for the Land of Rice Fields' border, your dear spouse could be in very deep trouble if you see what I mean"

Naruto's eyes turned to red in no time.

"Oh, of course, this goes also for your beloved, Kazekage-san!" the senior ROOT said to Gaara whose eyes immediately shone with brutal murder.

"Listen you ass-wipe, if you even dare to **touch** my Hinata, there will not be enough left of your corpse for anyone to identify it."

Saisyu's unique eye brimmed with scorn "How pathetically prosaic, Sir Hokage! Do you really think there is anything you can do to prevent us from capturing her? While we're talking, our fellows who stayed in Konoha have already launched their attack and must have already dealt with what little resistance your comrades might have mustered. We have drugged you and them last night. As I expected, the drug didn't cause anything on you due to your Tailed Beast. But your comrades will soon experience its effects!"iH

Saisyu didn't have time to cackle. A sand straightjacket quickly squeezed him before lifting up in the air.

"Gaara …"

"Only one chance to get away with your life, this is all you have. You order your men to retreat. You send someone to abort the mission in Konoha. You give us an antidote to the drug you have used. Yes, all three things. Not negotiable. Answer yes or no **now**." And then to Saisyu's comrades who stood there, wandering if they should try something against two such powerhouses. "You don't move a hair or I turn this into a bloodbath." The Kazekage's voice was hollow, forbidding any dispute, causing the lesser ROOTs to shiver.

'_Not even I can induce fear in our foes the way Gaara can!' _Naruto thought. He was always a little wary of a really mad Gaara.

Even if he was a Jinchuriki no more, the youngest Sabaku still had this terrible thirst for massacre when he was facing enemies. And these had made the terrible mistake of threatening Matsuri. That simple act could cause the Kazekage to go berserk anytime.

"My life is of no importance" Saisyu answered sternly

"Very well" Gaara said

"**Sand Coffin"**

A geyser of blood rained down on the Kages and the appalled ROOT agents as their captain met his end. Nothing was left of him.

"Naruto, contact our fellows. I think the drug might act on them any minute" the Kazekage said before collapsing. His Fire counterpart held him before he could actually hit the ground.

"Gaara, hang in there!"

"Hurry…up… Naruto… Alert them… all…"

"Right"

In front of them, the awestruck ROOT agents were still wavering about taking action or not. But hesitation is always fatal in the midst of battle. Naruto's hands flashed a few hand signs

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu"**

50 clones appeared next to him as he continued to form seals.

"**Earth Style : Earth Trap Jutsu"**

His clones disappeared and the remainder of Saisyu's squad had their ankles grabbed before being forced into the ground like a bunch of screws while Naruto tried to communicate with his comrades.

"Shino! Shikamaru! Kakashi-sensei! Do you hear me?"

"Shikamaru here, 5/5"

"Shino here, 5/5"

"Kakashi here, 5/5"

"Important information! We've all been drugged last night. The effects may manifest soon! Please inform the medic nins of your respective squads and act accordingly."

Before he could say anything else, Naruto saw a cold dark mist creeping at his feet. A forbidden technique he knew all too well… But just how did they…?

_Konohagakure's streets, a little earlier this day…_

"**Thunder Style: 1000 Lightning ****Arrows"**

Rasetsumaru had stepped up against Hinata, hoping to atone for his earlier mistake. And, though she looked so delicate and frail, the First Lady was not someone to be trifled with. Not anymore. Thus, he felt no qualms about attacking her forcefully. Around said kunoichi, a crackling crown of bolts had formed, ready to electrocute her. She didn't even budge, causing her opponent to doubt for a second before he launched his attack, giving enough time for Hinata to respond.

"**Absolute Heavenly Protection: 96 palms"**

Over the years, Hinata had perfected her own style and her ultimate defense took the form of a spinning dodecahedron made of the typical chakra whips used by the Hyuga clan. Lashing at every direction at the same time, Hinata simply absorbed the electricity of the attack. She stopped spinning and shaped a disc with the chakra whips.

"**Reversion Mirror Jutsu"**

Hinata infused the disc with the stored electricity before aiming at the ROOT enemy. A massive lightning bolt struck Rasetsumaru full impact, killing him almost instantly. The green haired traitor's body was nothing but tattered fabric and carbonized flesh. Amano couldn't believe what he just witnessed. The First Lady was rumored to be a gentle, merciful woman who was almost frightened to speak publicly. And although she seemed somewhat sad to have killed his fellow, she was still holding her fighting stance.

"Huh... What… Since when do you kill people?"

"A lesson I have learnt along these years is that you mustn't let live an enemy who has tried to kill you." Hinata replied sweetly, recalling her previous battles with Akatsuki "Do you wish to fight me still?"

"It's not like I have a choice, Lady Hinata. But Rasetsumaru was stupid to try to attack you that way. As I told you, our goal is to take you to custody. And since you seem unwilling to cooperate, I'll just compel you to."

"We'll see."

Amano moulded his own chakra.

"**Fire Style : K****atê!"**

His hands were glowing with an orange aura. Hinata analyzed the nature of the red-masked man's bloodline with her Byakugan and found out the aura was actually as hot as lava. It was a powerful form of Fire based chakra blended with Earth chakra. Dangerous, it surely was. Amano challenged her to a hand to hand combat. Hinata accepted and both lunged at each other. Hinata dodged a few blows but she eventually got nicked by one of her opponent's punches. Her kimono was instantly set on fire and she had to strip it, leaving only her ninja pants and her black sarashi to cover her. Amano was briefly stunned by the beauty of the woman. A little too long though. Hinata had the time to thrust a palm into Amano's side, causing him to scream in pain.

"I didn't hit you full force otherwise you'd be dead by now. If you're willing to surrender now, I'll have a medic tending to your wound. Else, you'll die of internal hemorrhage in no more than 15 minutes."

"I was waiting for this occasion" ROOT's second in command said

"**Lava Burst Jutsu"**

Below Hinata's feet, the earth cracked open and vomited burning red lava. She just had time to jump away but some slag hit her legs, injuring her seriously and forcing her to kneel. Vulnerable, she could only parry the fist of Amano but got her arms almost baked from his touch. Amano was about to strike again. Hinata gathered all her strength to send her palm crashing into Amano's exposed stomach one more time. The red-masked ROOT senior immediately spat out more blood before giving in to the ground.

"No matter what happens… Your husband is doomed… You should… Have surrendered… Lady Hinata."

Horribly hurt, Konoha's First Lady curled up on the dusty ground, trying to heal herself with the lesser medical jutsus she had been taught but she ached too much to make any significant impression on her injuries.

"You don't know, Naruto. He's one in a million. No matter what he faces, he never gives up until he succeeds."

"You're just… Spilling crap… His time has come… He will die at Madara-sama's hands…"

"Shut up! He will not! He vanquished Pein himself and quite a few Akatsuki members! Madara is about to be stopped!"

"You don't… Get it… Madara-sama… Has complete power over… His Demon Fox… He even …" Amano couldn't talk any further and coughed out blood before exhaling his last breath

'_What was he meaning?' _Hinata thought _'I hope the others are doing well… I can't move… anymore'_.

She had made it, she was alive. But she had taken much damage and she passed out from exhaustion before long.

_Battlefield, at the same time…_

Upon turning around, Naruto noticed a rabbit writhing in pain. Its forepaws were burnt and his hind legs seemed unable to function. An icy wind ran down his spine.

'_Hinata...' _

_Somewhere else, a bit to the North, a short while earlier…_

With their tracking abilities, Kiba and Shino lead Hanabi and Sakura way ahead of their comrades. A splinter group of ROOT agents was following them, as scheduled. However, from the time they had split, Shino knew instinctively there was something weird in this whole ambush thing. That many ROOT operatives sent to stop them? How come they didn't even try to get them in their sleep? Something bigger was coming up, he was sure of it. But first things first, they had to do away with their pursuers.

"Kiba, deal with the first comers" He ordered "Hanabi-san, try to spot the ones who'd try to escape and those who evaded your boyfriend's attack. I'll take care of the rear with Kankuro-san."

Hanabi and Kiba blushed like schoolgirls.

"Wait Shino, I'm not…" Kiba started

"If that wasn't the case, neither of you would have blushed. Now get going."

"Hah! I knew it!" Kankuro mocked "The minute I saw your hungry eyes on her, I just knew you would try to nail her! Congrats!"

"Shut up lipstick!" Kiba answered back, glaring.

"Lipstick?" Sakura asked

"Don't forget to shave your balls when she gives you a blowj…OW!! Tell your fucking dog to get off my…!" The Sunan said through clenched teeth

"**ENOUGH!**" Shino demanded "We have no time for puerile games! Kiba take Akamaru off our mate's crotch. Sakura, you stay here. Kankuro-san, you shut that mouth of yours and you come with me. Hanabi stop blushing and go off with Kiba!"

"But…"

"**Now!**"

Their secret uncovered, both Jounins leapt off with Akamaru to confront the enemy, a little shaken from having been outguessed so easily. But then again, it was foolish to try to hide something from someone as perceptive as their captain. But now that Kankuro was aware, there will be some clarifications to make before he goes goofing around about it.

"Sakura, as I ordered, you stay alert but you don't intervene unless you're personally assaulted. I have a feeling your abilities will be needed soon."

The pink haired young woman nodded, holding in her rage. Discussing Shino's orders which always sounded more like commands… Even she didn't have such temerity.

Up in the branches, Kiba and Hanabi were facing the ROOT spies. There were at least 12 of them.

"Hanabi, are they all there?"

"Nope I see more of them… Like 8 more… coming right after. The rear guard."

"Shino and Kankuro will take care of them. Now stand back and let us deal with them first. Let's go Akamaru!"

Kiba went on all-four mode and lunged at the ROOT shinobis head on.

"**Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: Fang Over Fang!"**

Akamaru and Kiba split and began to zigzag faster and faster towards their enemies until they couldn't be seen anymore. Suddenly, said foes were torn to shreds by twin tornados of claws. The canine duo jumped up and began spinning like drills before swooping down again on the surviving ROOT agents.

"**Inuzuka Secret Technique: Double Drill"**

That last attack wasn't actually lethal unlike the previous one but Kiba prefered not to overexert Akamaru's chakra supply which was smaller and connected to his. Hanabi jumped in to finish the job on the last 4 ROOT ninjas standing.

"A teenage girl?" one of them said "Missy you shouldn't fuck with the grownups."

Hanabi simply took the Gentle Fist stance without a word.

"**Hyuga Style: 64 Palms Combo"**

Caught in a hailstorm of blows that didn't actually touched him, the man who dissed Hinata's sister a little while ago dropped dead. Hanabi then turned to his comrades who attacked her all at once. She sharpened her Byakugan. Up in the trees, Kiba was watching her with admiration but Akamaru suddenly started to growl. Kiba tensed up and picked an additional smell. Another enemy was lurking nearby…

"**Cardinal Star Jutsu"**

Chakra beams spurted from Hanabi's body before shooting in all directions at the same time, phasing through the bodies of her opponents. It had the same effect as a Junken, except a little tougher. She relaxed but felt a hostile presence nearby. She tried to locate the foe thanks to her bloodline limit but when she did, it was too late. She saw the invisible sword aiming at her but she wouldn't be able to react in time. A bark, a scream, a battle cry, clashing metal and bloodstains on her face… Akamaru had torn the throat of the blue-haired man, ending his invisibility jutsu as well as his life in a blood squirt. Kiba had shielded her with his body and fell in her arms, his flank slit deeply.

"Kiba! Oh dear no!" the young girl said "Sakura? Sakura? Where are you?!"

No answer.

"Don't worry, Hanabi" Kiba said, clenching his teeth in pain "I went through worse!"

"This is no time for bravado! You're seriously injured! I'll try to summon Sakura. BYAKUGAN!"

Hanabi was about to scan the surroundings but Sakura appeared next to them in the nick of time.

"Thank Kami you're here!" Hanabi said "Why haven't you answered my cries earlier?"

"I simply didn't want the enemy to spot me in case there was still one around. Let me see his wound."

She professionally put Kiba on the side and examined the ugly gash.

"You've been lucky, Kiba. No vital organ has been touched it's only a flesh wound. A classic healing may do. However, you'll be incapacitated for the time being. Hanabi-san what's wrong?"

"I don't know… I feel dizzy…"

A little to the South, Shino and Kankuro had caught sight of the rest of the ANBU squad. Eight of them… One of them seemed to be a tracker, a bit like that Karin girl who was in the Uchiha defector's team. They had to get rid of him first. This kind of ninja was generally not very skilled in combat as a general rule but both allies had to hide their presence still. Shino created several insect clones and encircled the enemy group while Kankuro unfurled his scroll and summoned his 4 puppets

"**Black Ant! Crow! Salamander! Lamprey!"**

"You keep watch Kankuro-san! And you take on anyone who would try to escape!"

"Alright!"

'_Damn insect freak will try to take all the credit and __leave me behind! Won't let you do that you stuck up bastard!' _Kankuro thought

"And I am not trying to steal the show from you. It's just I believe you're much more skilled for a one on one combat." Shino said balefully at his team mate not even bothering to look back

"Huh? How did you…?"

"Sensing emotions is the first thing I've been taught when I began my training, Kankuro-san. Remember it."

With that, Shino left an upset Kankuro to brood. He sent one of his beetle scouts to get more information on the other opponents before ambushing them. After analyzing them, he found they were nothing special which was a little fishy. Why would ROOT send its weakest elements after them when they knew they would just be swept off like dirt? He would have to talk to Shikamaru about this later… On the other side, the tracker had stopped dead. He had felt Shino's presence.

"I sense antagonistic chakra surrounding us! Wait… It's the same chakra type… Clones… I'll try to locate the real one…"

With that, he began to analyze better Shino's chakra. A beetle hovered near his ear.

"Damn insect!"

"**Beetle ****Micro Bomb"**

The little bug landed on the tracker's head and exploded along with its target's skull. All his comrades immediately took a defensive stance. Shino appeared in front of them, his hands casually shoved in his pockets.

"Too late, gentlemen. You are already in my grip. Now perish!"

The Aburame heir desegregated to a swarm of black insects. The sky turned black as well, save for a circle dripping with bugs. From there, the peaceful blue of the actual sky could be seen, a

"What's going on?" one of the operatives said

"It's some kind of genjutsu I think" his comrade said

"**Imploding Insect Dome Jutsu"**

The dark swarm shut down, annihilating itself and leaving no trace of its passage behind. Annihilated was also the unfortunate ROOT squad of whom only the clothes were left. Shino never parleyed with the enemy or with anybody else for that matter. Mercy was not a word he was familiar with. He was about to come back to his comrades when a killing intent made him turn around but too late.

"Die freak!" the man behind him shouted **"Acid Dissolution Jutsu"**

The bearded red haired ROOT spat a putrid green liquid at Shino. But a wooden slab stopped the jet right on time. Salamander had stepped in.

"Well punk, looks like it's rather **your** time to take a shower!" Kankuro chuckled

With his notorious chakra threads, he made his largest puppet swing its tail at the acid wielder and sent after him his latest one, Lamprey. The wooden marionette fixed itself in the ROOT operative's back and started to suck off his chakra.

"What the fuck is that?"

"Don't sweat it, man! Lamprey will simply transfer your own chakra reserves to me so you can't escape." Kankuro's smile was dripping with evil

Lamprey detached itself from the man's back, making him completely worn out.

"Okay, guys! Showtime! Shino get behind me!"

"**Puppet technique: Black Secret: Breath of the Dead"**

Black Ant grabbed the painted Jounin's adversary and held him close, tearing at his arms and chest in the bargain. Salamander placed itself in front of the prisoner, opened its jaws and emitted an acrid cloud of yellowish smoke that simply turned him to a repugnant mound of melted flesh and entrails while his skeleton remained intact.

"Show's over!" Kankuro said with a smug smile as he turned to a stoic Shino

"You're such a showoff, you know. Did you have to overdo it like that?"

"Don't tell me you're not even going to thank me for saving your ass?!"

"Thank you." Shino replied flatly before his radio beeped him. It was Naruto.

"Important information! We've all been drugged last night. The effects may manifest soon! Please inform the medic nins of your respective squads and act accordingly."

Shino didn't feel anything abnormal within him at the moment. But he didn't know about the others. He decided to send his bugs to inform his mates. They would go faster than him.

"What does the moron say?" Kankuro said

"Pot calling the kettle black." Shino quipped, deadpan

"What did you say to me?"

"You heard me. Now, let's go to our comrades. I'll tell you the news on the way."

_Not far away, a little to the South…_

"Yamato!" Anko shouted right after dealing with one of their pursuers.

"**Wood Style: Oaken Pillars"**

Behind Yamato, a giant oak grew and its branches pointed menacingly at the ROOT agents who got crushed by the heavy pouters falling on them. One of them leapt to safety and made two Shadow Clones of himself before attacking violently the Konohans.

"**Fire Style: Blazing Chimaera Jutsu"**

"**Water Style: Whale Fluke Jutsu"**

"**Thunder Style: Electric Eel Jutsu"**

The three elemental beasts darted off to their victims. With nowhere to run or hide, they had to put up a defense quickly. Kakashi, Yamato and Neji formed a defensive circle and counterattacked.

"**Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu"**

"**Wooden Barrage Jutsu"**

"**Heavenly Spin Jutsu"**

As the attacks got seemingly nullified, Anko vanished and reappeared behind the ROOT senior who puffed up in smoke as soon as she tried to sneak up on him. Another Shadow Clone…

'_Of course.' _She thought_ 'Too easy.' _

She finally spotted him on a nearby branch but a knife salvo from TenTen also dispelled the illusion. She climbed up a tree and looked down. Her comrades were still struggling against the triple technique. Not to mention that Kakashi tired quickly due to his Sharingan. TenTen joined her.

"Did you see anything?" Anko asked, trusting in TenTen's amplified sight

"I located a few more clones of him but he won't be able to make them last that long. It takes a lot of chakra to hold three attacks and a cloning jutsu at the same time."

"Okay then. Can you hit them from here?"

"Sure."

TenTen unraveled her weapon scroll and made it flap in the wind.

"**Lizard's Tail Jutsu"**

The young woman took off and threw knives, kunais and daggers at the clones until two of them were left. As Anko and her surged towards them, a scream was heard. Both looked down to their companions and saw Neji being overridden by the lightning bolt he was containing. TenTen yelled in horror. They had to hurry… Both kunoichis attacked in synch. Anko had finally seized the opponent but it was too late for Yamato as well who got washed away by the water technique.

"I got you now, you fuck!" she said to the surprised man

"**Anaconda Destroying Embrace****"**

Two anacondas crawled out of the Snake Mistress's trench coat and proceeded to constrict the ROOT agent's torso and legs while she strangled him with her arms. The noise of broken bones announced his death. Anko went down and ran to her comrades. She didn't know why but her head was starting to ache. PMS migraine? No way. She had just ended her period 2 days ago.

"How are they doing?" she asked

"They're alive." Kakashi replied "Don't worry. But they're not that good. So am I by the way. I think that the Sharingan fatigued me a great deal…"

TenTen was holding an unconscious Neji in her arms, looking truly depressed.

"I think there is one major problem here… There is no medic nin on our team…" she said glumly

"I know" Kakashi said as he and Anko were inspecting Yamato who was still awake but completely out of breath "But we can relay this to Shikamaru or Shino and have Ino or Sakura come and help us out. Besides, I am feeling strange inside of me right now, like I'm seasick or something…"

"So do I." Anko said "Like a sleep drug or some shit like that …"

"That is the case." A voice said behind them from nowhere

"Who's there?" TenTen said already preparing a kunai shot

A shadow came out of the bushes and walked calmly towards them. The unknown was wearing a black garb and a full-face purple mask with absolutely no features other than the holes for the eyes.

"It's been such a long time, Kakashi-san, Yamato-san…" the person said as they removed their mask

"What the… **YOU!!**"

* * *

**A/N : KATÊ : **Romanization of the two kanjis meaning "Fire" and "Hand".


	18. Battlefield Part 3 : Bittersweet Conclus

**A/N: **

**_Hello to all! It's been such a long time since the last update, huh? Sorry but I had VERY little time to write lately and some personal problems to sort out so my writing got delayed and took the back seat for a few months. However, I kept my promise to upload two chapters this time so here is. Thanks to all the reviewers and readers and I apologize again for my lateness. The Batllefield arc comes to an end and we'll soon enter the last half of the fic... Enjoy!_**

* * *

It was a little past noon and the streets were oddly silent. So silent indeed that no one would think violence was raging inside some of Konoha's key buildings. Yet, the long file of people walking calmly towards the villages' shelters clearly indicated something was up. Guiding the villagers, 4 ninjas were keeping an eye on latecomers and the surroundings, ensuring the security check.

"Alright guys! Is everybody here?" the young shinobi said in his radio transmitter

"We've left no one behind, Konohamaru!" a juvenile female voice answered "Once we have them all inside the shelter we'll be ready to go!"

"Perfect! Raido-sempai? Konohamaru here! All the citizens will be safe in no time. But the Academy students are trapped still."

The redheaded Jounin with the burn-marked face congratulated "Good job, kids! Now one of us needs to stay here and watch over the villagers. The rest will go off to help our fellows free the children. But we'll wait for them to be in the shelters before we decide anything about taking action."

15 minutes later, all the civilians were safe in Konohagakure's mountain bunkers. Among the crowd, a young woman with glasses and messy hair was tending to a young boy with distinctive red eyes. Raido recognized her and made his way through the crowd to approach her.

"Shiho? What are you doing here?" the scarred Jounin asked "Weren't you supposed to be working in the ANBU secret chambers?"

"I was asked to take care of Kurenai-san's son today. But if I can be of any help…"

"That's kind of you but one of us will be staying here. Take care of Kyosuke-kun, that will be already something huge, believe me. Not to mention you're not exactly a combat type…"

"I agree" Shiho answered with a sad smile "Have you got any news from our expedition to the Land of Sound?"

"Not yet. But I'm sure they are quite alright. Don't worry. Naruto and Gaara aren't our leaders for nothing. And Shikamaru is there as well to back them up with Kakashi and Shino."

"That's what I'm talking about… Do you think he's safe?"

"No one is ever safe on a battlefield, Shiho. No one." Raido answered, sibylline. Upon seeing the nerdy blonde's dismay he added with a smile "But Shikamaru is a skillful strategist. He's not someone you can get rid of so easily!"

Shiho brightened up a bit and waved Raido goodbye as he joined Konohamaru and his teammates. By her side, Kyosuke was watching silently with a preoccupied gaze.

"Kyosuke-kun, don't worry. Your mother will be fine."

The young boy with the crimson eyes turned to his caretaker "You really think so?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Because she entrusted me to uncle Shikamaru and to you. As if she feared for her life…"

Shiho suddenly felt anxiety insidiously compressing her chest… She didn't know why but she had the impression Kyosuke's worries weren't totally unfounded…

_Konoha's academy, meanwhile, in Iruka's classroom…_

Iruka's bandaged wound was not serious but hurt like a bitch. Although he wasn't completely incapacitated, he had some trouble moving his right arm. On the bright side, his pupils had tranquilized a little. But the three inanimate bodies sprawled on the floor were still an upsetting sight to behold for young children.

"Iruka-sensei… Are they…dead?" a brown haired boy stammered

"Two of them are, Yashiro."

The boy and his classmates' eyes were expressing nothing but a mix of horror and pity. A completely normal and understandable reaction for kids of their age.

"Kids you may take this as your first practical class. Death is the constant companion of the ninja and you will cross paths with her more than you think. This may be the hardest part of your training: as ninjas, you are supposed to defend your land and its inhabitants. And sometimes, actually many times, this will include killing the attacker. 'Cause if you don't, **they** will not hesitate to kill you." He pointed at Ofuyo's corpse "And sometimes the enemy comes from the inside. As you saw it, these traitors had no compunction in taking you as hostages. The fact that you're children doesn't matter to them. Keep that in mind."

The child called Yashiro approached the body of the fallen ANBU captain. Out of curiosity, he touched her, causing the so-called dead woman to puff up in smoke. Everyone present stood there, disconcerted.

"Shit! A Shadow Clone! She got away!" Iruka cursed

He quickly went to check the other kunoichis and found out that one was really dead, the other was still unconscious.

"Kids! Tie this woman up real tight and prop her in a corner. She'll wake up anytime."

"And what about the other, Iruka sensei?"

"She's dead. I'll take care of her."

Iruka carried the deceased kunoichi to the windowsill, yanked one of the curtains and wrapped her in it before flashing a few hand seals.

"**Ice Case Jutsu"**

The crystallized corpse would remain there for the time being but one of the traitoresses was roaming free still.

_Outside, meanwhile…_

Hiding in the trees of the Academy's yard, Kurenai and Matsuri were watching the kunoichis guarding Genma's classroom. Two of them… Genma was tied, gagged and stripped, unable to act. The pupils were kept in check, all gathered with their hands on their heads in a corner of the room. Kurenai assessed the situation.

"You've got your way with ropes and cords as I hear." Kurenai said "Can you untie him from here?"

"I can only do this if I can infuse chakra in the ropes, in other words, I have to touch them. What do you have in mind?"

"If you can't act from a distance, we'll have to go for a melee. But maybe…" Kurenai paused for an instant "Once you see me in the classroom, you wait for my move, then you break in and take care of Genma, got it?"

"Huh…Alright…"

"Good. I'll go now."

"Yuuhi-san!" Matsuri clung to Kurenai's red sleeve

"What is it?"

"Be careful. You have someone to look after."

Kurenai smiled.

"I've been through enough hardships in my life to know that. Don't worry, I know my limits." She turned away "And by the way, you also have someone to come home to. Don't forget it."

The red eyed beauty blinked out as Matsuri blushed slightly. She had a thought for Gaara and focused again on the ROOT girls who seemed to have picked up their presence somehow. They looked tenser than before.

Inside the classroom, Genma was cursing himself for getting caught so easily. He tried a couple of times to break free but without his ninja attire and with both wrists and ankles tied… Not to mention acting rash was not an option when children are involved.

'_I really screwed up!' _he thought with a dark smirk

Without warning, Kurenai appeared straight in front of his captors. The one with long hair immediately attacked her.

"**Ninja Art: Mirage Blast"**

The hologram burst out in a blinding pink light. Genma had averted his eyes in time but his enemies didn't. Both kunoichis clasped their hands at their eyes and went staggering. Meanwhile, Genma felt someone untying him. He turned his head back and saw a Sand ninja unraveling his binds. He then noticed Kurenai had already dealt with the long haired one who lay on the floor. The other one was about to launch a clumsy counterattack but a strong kick to the head kayoed her.

"Nice kick, Genma!" Kurenai praised

"Thanks for all, both of you!" the laidback man cheered "Where are all the other Jounins?"

"Too long to explain. We're under attack or should I say mutiny. We have rescued Iruka but he's wounded so we preferred to take you along to deal with the rest of these girls. How are the children?" Kurenai asked

"Mostly good. They're just shocked." He said as he waved at his relieved pupils "Are there any other ROOTs on this floor."

"We have been spotted!" Matsuri warned "Stampede upstairs!"

"Ebisu and Aoba?" Genma asked as he put back on his Jounin attire

"Ebisu-san is wounded at the leg" Matsuri said "But I fear we can't do anything for Aoba-san no more."

A loud stomping was heard from the staircase. Genma quickly went to the corner where his clothes were piled and dressed up.

"Dammit! They're already here" Kurenai cursed as she caught sight of the first ROOT females

"Kids, you don't interfere at any point, am I being clear?" Genma ordered his pupils "This is a dangerous situation and we will protect you with our lives! That's our promise. But in order for us to do so, you must stay still, okay? Now go hide under your desks and don't come out until we tell you to!"

The pupils nodded docilely and complied.

All three rushed in the corridor. Both Kurenai and Matsuri stood in shock when they recognized Ofuyo, standing defiantly before her subordinates.

"Surely you weren't believing it would be that easy, were you?" the dark-skinned ROOT woman taunted

"Let me guess, you were using a Shadow Clone all along, right?" Matsuri asked, already preparing a set of kunais.

"Bingo! But now I think you do realize that we fairly outnumber you so if you don't want your precious students to die so young, just hand yourselves over. I won't repeat myself…"

"Taking children as hostages… And you're all women, to make it worse." Genma vituperated "If you bitches want to fight, show some guts and take it outside!"

"Oh, I love it when a man goes all muscle on a woman! Now **that **is showing some true balls!" Ofuyo taunted snidely "Don't you think so, girls?" A choir of sneers answered "Alright then. Since you want to do it the hard way, suit yourself! Bring it on!"

Everyone present vanished and reappeared in the Academy's patio. The battle could start…

_Madara's Lair…_

"See? I told you that you'd like it." Madara said as he slid out of her

"You were good, I'll give you that."

"There will be more if you want to."

Konan turned over and breathed heavily.

"Are you telling me you did this for pleasure?"

"Of course." Madara laid next to her "In fact, I wanted you the minute Pein introduced you to me."

Konan sent him a stunned look.

"Wait! Don't tell me…"

Madara nodded.

"Bullshit! You tried to snap my neck when I came to you with the news of Pein's death!"

"Pein is not dead technically. And about me wanting to snap your neck, I was mad but not at you. I was just taking it out. I may have overdone it with the fire attack but you had already escaped so you weren't risking anything."

'_He's really taking me for an idiot!' _Konan thought

"How do you know Pein is not dead?" she asked

Madara simply smiled.

"Of course" she said with a sad look "The good question is '**since when** do you know?' "

"You shouldn't be thinking about him right now. He's just as good as buried the way it is. How about a shower?"

"You go first. I'll join you… I need to come to my senses"

"As you please. The bathrooms are just across."

Madara stood up and went out to the bathroom. Konan waited for the sound of running water and then dislocated her lower tummy to paper sheets to get rid of the paper cone she had used to store his semen.

'_Thank Kami! I really wasn't sure it would work!'_

She wasn't able to do this before. After 5 years of training, Konan was now able to control her internal organs which came in handy against the Byakkugan or poison-based techniques. Her Mokuton attacks had bettered as well, even if she was still inferior in skill to the likes of Yamato and the First Hokage.

'_You can have my body all you want. But my womb is my property. And whose children I wanna carry is my choice. Not yours. And I don't want any of your children.'_ She thought

Konan disposed of the little origami piece and joined Madara in the bathroom. It was very much like the one she had used back when she was in ANBU's cells. A brown tiling was covering the walls while a green one was inside the shower, where steam was accumulating. The paint of the ceiling was starting to crumble and a few spider webs in the corners completed the setting. She observed Madara under the shower for a short while and had to admit he was indeed quite handsome. He was taller and more muscular than Itachi and Sasuke. Yet there were no doubts that all three were akin. Charcoal hair, pale skin, hairless body… But even that didn't move her heart, let alone her hormones. She would do whatever it took to remain alive, even if it meant to compromise her body's integrity. For the sake of Pein and the second chance they might be given, she would do anything. This is what she thought as she entered the shower, where Madara was already soaking.

_In the Land of Fire's Forest, a little to the south…_

Kakashi, Yamato, TenTen and Anko stood there, dumbfounded. Before their very eyes, Kabuto Yakushi was standing. Having absorbed Orochimaru's remains had modified his appearance a great deal although he still remained fairly recognizable. No longer wearing glasses, the White Snake's man-bitch still had this sly expression and his silver hair now falling loose around his juvenile face. His skin was fairer though not utterly white and his eyes were now reptilian.

"Surprised to see me?" he asked with a mild and mocking tone

"What do you want, Kabuto? What the hell are you doing here?" Kakashi croaked. He never could stand the sight of Kabuto, ever since he met him.

"My proper title is Otokage-sama now, Kakashi-san. I recommend you start referring to me as such."

"Otogakure is not even a legal nation. Quit stalling and get to the fucking point already!" Kakashi had lowered his voice but his eyes were brimming with restrained anger.

"Kakashi, stop it! Let him talk! And please just come down! If you push yourself you'll turn to a mop in no time and you know that!" Anko tempered, causing the Copy Ninja to keep mum

"Well, well, well… I was expecting a better welcome committee!" Kabuto always had a love for cutting sarcasms "But since you're so harried, I'll cut to the chase. I just came here to heal your injuries and to cure you from the drug you've been injected in your sleep last night."

"Wait!" Anko cut "How do you know about that?"

"Intelligence has always been my specialty. But are we really supposed to discuss it now when we should already be working on your wounds? I can explain to you as I work."Heghh

TenTen turned to Kakashi with begging eyes. Kakashi grunted and leered at a smugly smirking Kabuto.

"I swear if you try **anything** …"

Kabuto waved his hand with a bored expression. "You're such a cliché, Kakashi-san."

With that, he kneeled at Neji's side and uncovered his hands to feel his forehead. A blue aura surrounded his hands as everyone watched attentively in silence. Neji opened his eyes, seemingly a little seedy, and looked at TenTen who smiled at him.

"Neji! How are you doing?" she asked with tremolos in her voice

"I'm alright but my head aches like hell."

"It won't last long, Hyuga-san." Kabuto told him "Just stay still for the moment to recover entirely."

"You!" Neji exclaimed a bit startled "What are you…?"

"As you can see, I'm healing you." The grey haired youth turned to Yamato "Yamato-san, please don't move."

Yamato looked warily at their haphazard medic but let him touch his sides all the same to heal his cracked ribs.

"If I may" the brown haired ANBU senior asked "You're not doing it for free, are you? What do you expect from us in return?"

"True. I'm not doing it for the sake of it. But I don't expect anything from you in return. At least not now and not here."

Kabuto ended his healing session with Yamato, leaving him practically fit, and then turned to TenTen who let him do without objection. She only had minor wounds and needed to have the drug removed form her body. When he turned to Kakashi, said Jounin begrudgingly let his former foe put his hands on his head and chest to remove the drug and kept a close watch as he laid his hands on Anko.

"Well then, you're all set. I guess I'll just take my leave." Kabuto said, walking away casually

Kakashi planted himself in front of the medic nin with an inquisitive look.

"You are not leaving until you explain to us why you did this."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Let's say, I am not allied to Madara Uchiha. That's all you need to know. I hope we'll meet again. Or maybe you can just drop by. Just don't remain in the shadows this time. Wish you well."

Kabuto vanished, leaving Kakashi and his just as puzzled teammates to wonder.

"What a strange guy." TenTen said

"Yes. And dangerous." Neji said "I used my Byakugan to see inside of him. It's very similar to that of Orochimaru and Tsunade-sama. But his skills' level is even higher …"

"Kakashi" Yamato called as he got up "He knew, right?"

"Of course he did. Sleek and sly like a weasel, as usual. He knew we went spying on him, he knew we would come and get Madara. But he doesn't sound the slightest bit worried or upset. What he's up to, I just don't know. But we mustn't trust him and this is what I'm sure of."

"But… He just healed us without asking anything!" TenTen pleaded

"Don't be so gullible, TenTen." Anko said "That kind of guy doesn't do anything for free. If he helped us up, it means he sees some interest in our survival, he confessed it himself. But we shouldn't be worrying about that now. We'll try to get track of our comrades and reunite. We've still got miles to go before we reach the Rice Fields' borders."

"For now let's just all go back to Naruto and Gaara. When we settle tonight, we will talk about all this and share the information with our comrades."

With that, all set out to return to where they came from.

_On the Main Battlefield…_

Naruto turned around and noticed two shinobis in a chakra moulding position standing among the rubble. Oddly, they weren't dressed like ROOT operatives. He didn't have time to detail them more, they chanted their incantation.

"**Forbidden Technique: Unholy Resurrection"**

The icy black mist flowed all over the ruined crater and beyond. A purplish aura emanated from the ground as the bodies began to move. Naruto watched the ghastly scene, mesmerized. From the debris, the dead ninjas were rising. Their void gaze betrayed their actual nature.

"What are you shits trying to do?" Naruto asked the newcomers. On a second thought, the technique they were using…

"We're just doing our jobs." One of them answered with a stupid smile before both went out of sight

Naruto swiftly opened his backpack and took out one of the vials Sakura had given him and gave it to Gaara who looked livelier momentarily.

"What is it?" he asked upon getting his grip back on reality

"It's one of Sakura's antidotes. She said it could lessen the effects of poisons and drugs. Are you okay now?"

"I will be. What's this?" Gaara asked as he saw the macabre army in front of them "A forbidden technique, right?"

"Guess so. But this is no ROOT's work." Naruto stated as he waved towards their assailants "This type of justu…"

"Orochimaru…" Gaara added "They're from the Land of Sound."

Slowly setting themselves in motion, the walking corpses began to run awkwardly towards the two Kages.

"**Double Rasengan"**

Naruto struck the first line of offenders with his signature technique, utterly crushing them to pieces. But that was not enough. Another batch was already assaulting them. Gaara formed a protecting wall of sand to parry the kunais aiming at them before remolding it to a gigantic wave of sand, a sardonic smile on his face.

"**Desert Tidal Wave"**

The sand flowed dramatically towards the undead and nailed them to the ground. Gaara kneeled and put his hands down.

"**Sand Style: Imperial Funeral Jutsu"**

The earth underneath the undead army quickly turned to sand and cracked open like jaws before closing on itself again. The sand reverted back to earth. The encased soldiers wouldn't surface again. Gaara looked balefully at the remainder of the opponents but Naruto put a hand before him.

"That was impressive Gaara!" he said with a confident smile "But know it's time for me to display what I have learnt during all this time as well. Since these things seem not to suffer from normal injuries, I'll just turn them to ashes!"

Gaara nodded and stood still as a column of sand elevated him in the air. Down below, Naruto took his chakra moulding stance and his chakra began to glow around him, gradually turning to orange. Naruto's features were also changing: his nails turned to claws, his whiskers-like markings on his cheeks became even more apparent, his build became stockier, his hair went wild and his teeth became fangs. He opened up his eyes which had become bloody red. 4 chakra tails were sprouting out of the fiery aura that surrounded him, two chakra ears seemed to crown his head and his body had turned to a black shadow although he could now retain his human form. With a bellow, the Hokage addressed the uncanny army standing in front of him.

"**You shits are going to be fertilizer in no time!" **

But in his innermost mind, Naruto knew that all of this was a joke. There was something belying with this whole army thing since the beginning. If it did took a whole division to invade the Land of the Rice Fields and to defeat Madara Uchiha, that piece of shit certainly didn't take Konan away and killed Danzo for nothing when he perfectly knew that it would give away his own presence. But there was no time to reflect about this right now. If he had learnt to tame the Kyuubi, Naruto still had to overexert his own self-control and concentration to remain in command of his body and reactions. That dark voice inside of him that was inciting him to unleash his wrath… He was still hearing it but he could stifle it better than he used to.

In a wave of its hand, the shadow inside the red vulpine form shoved aside a bunch a ROOT undead before going on all fours and utterly vaporizing anything that stood in its way…

Watching from his sand pillar, Gaara was searching thoroughly the surroundings of the battlefield for the two Sound nins and finally spotted them. As he launched his attack, both quitted their moulding stance and vanished.

Naruto stopped abruptly and reverted back to his normal self. The last ROOTs standing were collapsing one after the other. It was over. At least for now. He looked back where Gaara was supposed to lie in wait and found him aiming for the forest around the battlefield. He had found them. But instead of attacking, Gaara simply dropped on the ground and joined his Fire counterpart.

"They got away." He said, neutral

"Of course… Too easy…" Naruto said as he reverted back slowly to his normal self "Alright, I'll just call on the other team leaders to see how it is going and we'll just wait for them here."

A little ahead in the forest, the Sound duo reunited with a third man in a dark robe waiting for them at the foot of a centenary oak.

"How did it go?" the man asked

"As you expected, Otokage-sama. The Hokage has now complete control over his Bijuu. However, we only saw him in action up to 4 tails level. We don't know if he can go higher."

"Of course he can. This expedition from Konoha and Suna is a gift from the Gods, my fellows. It will save us a lot of trouble and hopefully it might even further our goals."

"So I take it the agenda remains unchanged right?" The second Sound nin asked his master

"Absolutely. And other than what is already planned, we won't interfere in the course of any event that may take place. Our position will be to pick up the pieces of whatever will be left off the upcoming confrontation. Am I clear?"

"Yes" Both shinobis answered

"Good. Now it's time to head back."

The trio leapt off to the trees.

_To the West, a little while earlier…_

The drug was already acting when Naruto called on them, which explained why Chouji had so much trouble in getting out of the poisonous mud earlier on.

"Ino, how is it that you seem almost unaffected?" Temari inquired as Ino removed the drug form her body.

"Trying to poison a medic-nin… Sloppy move!" the slender blonde replied with a wink

Temari shrugged. "Of course… Let's hope Lee has enough strength to bring back one of these peons."

"Don't worry." Shikamaru said placidly, inhaling the smoke from his cigarette "It takes more than intoxicants to have Lee fail a mission. Speaking of the devil…"

Lee landed from the trees, the burgundy-haired girl on his shoulders, neatly constrained with nylon thread.

"Here. As you required…" Lee managed to say before giving in to the ground "I'm sorry… I've been… feeling… strange since I fought the… ROOT nins…my body feels like… cotton…"

"Ino, take care of him. I'll do the interrogation"

"Please let me go!" the girl begged with fear in her eyes, struggling to loosen up the threads that were already eating into her skin

Shikamaru stepped on his cigarette stub and exhaled the smoke.

"Depending on your willingness to cooperate, I just might do that. Now, answer the questions you're asked. Who are you?"

"I am Sasara Omikami, from the ROOT Special Division."

"Good. Who gave the order to stop us?"

"Danzo-sama did. He said that you had to be stopped at all costs from reaching the Land of Sound."

"Do you realize that not even a platoon that powerful and numerous can actually do anything against the Rokudaime?"

"I do."

"Then you did know that your purpose was to slow us down, not to utterly stop us since you had no chance to succeed in the first place?"

"Actually, we were supposed to kill you and your confederates so the Hokage would be the only one to reach for his destination."

Shikamaru grunted and marked a pause. Temari rolled her eyes.

"Danzo is sending you to death and you just plunge into it like idiots…" the tall blonde said with a disillusioned gaze "I understand that loyalty comes first in any situation but that was just plain stupid. Even if you did manage to have us exhaust some chakra, even bruised us a bit…"

"I agree with Temari" Ino put in, still working on Lee "Most of you were small fry. There are much more powerful ROOT operatives, where are they now?"

"They are all in Konoha. We have planned to have the most powerful of the active Jounins, that means you, and the Hokage leave the village so that only the First Lady and some lesser Jounins as well as inactive ninjas such as Hyuga-dono or Yamanaka-san and the civilians would remain in the Village. We acted in order to have you all drugged last night so that you wouldn't be able to fight at your fullest potential." Sasara explained with a dim voice "But the real goal is to capture the First Lady and use her as a hostage, should the Hokage come back victorious."

The Konohans shuddered.

"Classic shit but, alas, very effectual. Most of all on someone as emotionally driven as Naruto" Shikamaru commented "And what are you planning to do with Hinata if we fail and die?"

Sasara answered with a knowing, albeit ominous, look.

"Of course…" Konoha's General said "Well then, I suppose you don't know much more. Just one last thing: who killed Danzo last night? I'm sure you have an idea…"

"I don't" the girl said, looking away. Temari approached her and forced her to look into her eyes

"For a ROOT kunoichi, you really suck at lying!" Temari's smile did not touch her eyes. She searched in her weapon pouch and produced a senbon needle. Lee had come back to his senses in the meantime. When he realized what Temari was doing, his eyes opened wide in shock…

"Wait! What is she…?"

"Don't worry, Lee-san. I'll just make her understand that it's not very smart to take me for a fool" The Sunan blonde pointed the needle at Sasara's right eye "Now answer honestly to the question you've been asked, woman. Else, well, I'll let you guess what might happen…"

"Temari-san!" Lee exclaimed "This is no way to proceed!"

"Don't worry, Lee. Sunagakure's rules have always been harsher. I'm just abiding by them in regards to questioning traitors." Temari answered calmly. And then, to the terrified ROOT girl "Sasara, right? I'm waiting for your answer…"

"All right, all right…" Sasara shrieked "I believe Danzo-sama has been killed by Madara-sama! Danzo-sama has always been a second in command…"

"See? It wasn't that difficult!" Temari mocked "And do you know why the one-eyed asshole is now worm food?"

"I don't know! I promise I don't! All I know is that Danzo-sama was aware that he was to die soon! He gave his last orders to Amano-sempai and also left him with a big envelope before meeting with Madara Uchiha."

"Well then… Since you seem so knowledgeable, I assume you can tell us a little more about the contents of the envelope as well, can't you?" Temari asked, approaching the needle even closer to Sasara's eye

"I have no idea what was inside! Only Amano-sempai read it!"

Temari made the tip of the kunai graze the kunoichi's eyelid.

"**Please stop! I swear I don't know !**" the burgundy-haired girl implored

"Enough, Temari!" Shikamaru snapped "She doesn't know. Quit it with your needle and let her go!"

Temari obeyed her lover and stood up. Sasara's eyes were dribbling from fright and relief at the same time.

"Your woman is a demon, Shikamaru!" Lee said with a resentful glance. Lee always despised psychological coercion and those who used it. But Temari didn't take offence; Lee was just ridiculously chivalrous at times.

"She is not my woman, Lee. Stop bothering us with that!" Shikamaru replied irritably

"If you think your affair with the Sunan ambassadress is going unnoticed, you're mistaken, Nara-san" Sasara stated between two huffs "If I may give you some advice, be more honest about it or your denial might be used against you and, in turn, against the Hokage since you're his General. You are also a target of ROOT, just so you know. And that goes for you as well, Sabaku-san."

Shikamaru and Temari stared at the girl and then at each other. No one uttered a word for a while… Eventually, Shikamaru went to untie her.

"Sasara, you're free to go" he said

The girl ran away without turning back, leaving behind a whole team puzzled and eying the now shrinking couple.

"Not dating, huh?"

"**Shut up, Ino!**" Shikamaru barked. The Jounin straightened up and did his best to regain his composure "Now let's just head back to where we left Naruto. Chouji, Lee, are you able to walk?"

"Chouji mustn't walk for the next 6 hours" Ino answered in the large Jounin's stead "Lee?"

"I'll be fine. I am not at my best but that will do."

Shikamaru smiled. The green-clad youth's unwavering will always forced a sort of admiration from Konoha's General. Rock Lee was the living proof that even an underdog can do great through hard work and perseverance.

"Temari, take Chouji with you on your fan and fly ahead. We'll follow you. Ino, Lee, I don't want to hear **anything** about what you've just heard, am I being clear?"

"Fair enough, Shikamaru-san. But you do understand that you will have to deal with this sooner or later, right?" Lee inquired with a concerned look

"I do. And that will be dealt with in due time. Let's go now."

Temari remained silent as she flew off on her fan to the main battlefield while the rest of the team jumped up to the trees. Absent-mindedly, she pressed her hand at her tummy, a concerned look on her face. A simple gesture that Chouji didn't fail to notice…

'_Don't tell me she's…' _

_Konoha's Hospital, Mid-Afternoon:_

Gai had easily held off the first team of ROOTs that blocked the entry to the staircase and raced through the first floor's corridors. After disposing of the first few ROOTs they encountered, Gai and Shizune sped towards the second storey. The first floor's staff seemed to have been moved to another part of the hospital and both ran through the empty corridors until Gai stopped dead in front of a huge tree trunk blocking the access to the upper floors, characteristic chakra note jufus all around the gate.

"Gai-san, what is..?"

"They have blocked the way up! Is there any other access?"

"Yes. Right around the corner but…"

"I'll go check, you stay here!" Gai said before hasting to the other entrance which was equally blocked.

'_Too easy, of course…'_ he thought as he ran back to Shizune

"It's blocked on the other way by the same tree!"

"That's what I was trying to say before you ran off, Gai-san!" Shizune berated "If we want to break through that thing, we need to disrupt the chakra flux of the seals first and then we can cut the way through!"

Gai felt sheepish but stood still. Shizune concentrated and soon a blued aura glowed around her hands, gradually taking the form of two chakra daggers. The brown-haired medic slowly drew a cross on the sealed gate before backing off swiftly.

"The disruption is only temporary. I'll…"

"Let me do it, Shizune-san. Watch my back!" Gai said as he concentrated to reach the full potential of the 5th gate. The energy charge emanating from the Green Beast's body was wearing out his clothes and the tattered top of his jumpsuit ended up dangling from his belt.

"**Sun Tiger Fists"**

Shards and splinters of wood flew all over the place as a hail of punches staved in the trunk, clearing a passage for Shizune who had carefully sheltered herself behind a wall's recess. The seal's scriptures fell to the floor as a result. Only two minutes had passed when light shot through the trunk as a panting Gai came to pick her up, his hands flayed to the dermis. He was slowly reverting to his normal self .Shizune healed him quickly and gave him her last food pills so he could restock himself with enough quickly ran upstairs.

_Konoha's hospital, 4__th__ floor, meanwhile…_

Moriya was enjoying his cigarette on the Hospital's roof. It had been much easier than expected. But he was no fool, he knew that some of Konoha's Jounins were still on the run and that it was only a matter of time before one of them tried to sneak in and sabotage the operation. But they had two major trump cards: the hospital's staff and patients as hostages and the pharmacy. Not to mention the massive trunk they had placed in the first floor's stairway. Thus, the blonde haired ROOT captain decided to relax for the moment and decided to pay a visit to Sai, his former companion who had decided to forego his position in ROOT to become ANBU's captain. Moriya and two of his subordinates entered the room where Sai laid and greeted him with a malevolent smile.

"Well, long time no see, ain't it faggot?"

The white-skinned ANBU chief turned to the visitor and greeted him with one of his sketchy smiles:

"Good to see you, cauliflower-dick!"

Moriya immediately twitched in embarrassment before rushing to the convalescent's bed and seizing him by the collar, ignoring his minions' chuckles.

"I told you to stop calling me that, cocksucker!"

"Well it's the truth, your penis does look like a…"

The ROOT senior slapped him across the face "One more word and I fuck you up, got it?"

"Why does it always have to be about sex with you?" Sai gibed, his smile still on

Moriya punched him in the tummy, causing the ANBU to shrink in pain. He was about to draw his katana, but he decided to come down and let go off Sai.

"I don't even know why I get all worked up about that shit! You and your ilk will be 6ft feet under soon so…" he said as he ignited another cigarette

"It's a non-smoking place…" Sai said, deadpan

"Peachy!" Moriya answered as he exhaled the smoke in Sai's face, making him cough "Now I'd like to have some information from you if you don't mind…"

"I mind"

"Whatever. What did you exactly see upon investigating our base in your last mission?"

"You don't know what was inside?"

"I am the one asking questions here!" Moriya disciplined "So what did you see?"

"I don't remember…" Sai said with his usual stony face

"Let's just try to remember, shall we? Hold him you two!" Sai wasn't at his top form yet and was easily immobilized by Moriya's henchmen. Said ROOT operative flicked his cigarette and pointed it right at Sai's armpit "So, what did you see?"

Sai kept an Olympian calm. Moriya grazed his former comrade's skin with the incandescent tip but he couldn't go any further.

"CAPTAIN!" a panicked, out-of-breath ROOT agent stormed in

"What's happening, Kazuri?"

"It…It's terrible! We are under attack!"

"Huh? Who…"

"He's cutting us to pieces, it is pure chaos downstairs!!!"

"Stop spewing bullshit! If it's really that serious…"

"He's calling himself the Green Beast of Kono…"

A hellish din roared downstairs and made the walls quake. Rumours of fight, yells of pain and broken glass noises made Moriya frown. He knew only one person able to attack so upfront successfully

"Kazuri! You and Hayato keep watch of the pharmacy. If I don't come back, you destroy it! Somuku you stay here and keep that pansy and the other hostages in check. Gather them up if needed!"

"But…" Kazuri began

"Get going!"

Moriya rushed towards the staircase and was greeted by another ruckus. His confederates were cowering in fear or running for their lives. The white corridor's linoleum was strewn with medical paraphernalia. A green and red juggernaut sped past him before stopping abruptly and turning to him.

"Hey! It's been quite a long time, Moriya-san!" Gai grinned mockingly at the green eyed older man with the tattooed arms standing before him in his black ROOT attire.

"Not long enough for me brain-fart!" Moriya spat with contempt "I can't believe you actually have the nerve to present your sorry ass before me!"

"Well… How could I know that you were here?" Gai questioned with a dumb look

A sudden stomping interrupted their petty argument

"Gai-san! I have secured all the patients and the staff is safely tending to…" Shizune huffed before noticing Moriya "Who is it?"

"A very old friend of mine!" Gai introduced smugly "Please meet Moriya Watanabe, Shizune-san. A training mate back when we were kids and also the only one to willingly take Danzo as his tutor. Talk about S&M, heh?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Moriya questioned with the evil eye

"Well, knowing just how hellbent he was on physical punishment, I assumed it was your way to get off back then!"

Moriya unsheathed his katana and defied Gai.

"This is the last time I'm gonna tolerate your stupidity, Gai."

Gai began to charge up one more time.

"Shizune-san, go ahead and take care of the remaining prisoners and their jailers. I'll deal with him"

Gai charged up again and threw himself on his opponent. Moriya hardly evaded the attack and made his hands flash.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu"**

A dozen replicas of the ROOT agent appeared and attacked Gai all at once but to no avail. Apparently… When the last clone puffed up in smoke, Gai noticed the explosive note on his right leg. The note burst before he could react. Observing from the outer windowsill, Moriya grinned. Dust and flying debris hid the horrible sight for awhile.

"You're incredibly unoriginal for a ROOT senior!" A voice said from above

Moriya just had the time to lift up his head, a punch smashed in his face point-blank, sending him crashing in the hospital's hedges. Gai dashed at him but only found damaged bushes. A fabric rustle alerted him. He barely prevented his adversary's sword from severing his right arm. Moriya vanished out of sight to reappear on the building's roof but he didn't have time to launch another attack. Gai had followed him and was now firing punches and kicks at him. It didn't take much time for the Green Beast to strike but his enemy smoked away. A shadow clone again… of course… Behind him, a shout was heard.

"**Hidden**** Blades Jutsu"**

A massive salvo of flying swords and sabers aimed at Gai, forcing him to use up more of his speed resources. But he would soon run out of chakra and opening the Sixth gate was no longer an option. He had to finish off Moriya the soonest possible and get back to Shizune or his heart would risk a stroke. He succeeded to dodge most of the projectiles but two of them slashed at his sides and the last one impaled him through the shoulder. Moriya took advantage of the momentum loss to lunge at the Green Beast. Gai merely evaded the first slash but couldn't prevent the ROOT agent to thrust a dagger in his right thigh, causing him to scream in pain. Gai was loosing more and more speed each passing minute and soon he would collapse from exhaustion. His heart was beating too fast. And Moriya was going in for the kill.

"This is the end, you fucking moron!" the ROOT senior guffawed evilly as he drew out his katana one more time

Tapping in his last forces, Gai leapt towards his opponent and managed to seize him before jumping off the roof of the Hospital and letting himself fall flat on Moriya, crushing the ROOT operative under his weight. Gai managed to stand up. Not his adversary. But as he tried to walk away, Gai felt he had been stabbed in the other thigh. Judging by the amount of blood leaking from it, Moriya had managed to slit his femoral artery. Worn out, bleeding, out of breath, Gai kneeled and slowly drowned into unconsciousness…

Konoha's Hospital, 4th floor, meanwhile…

The 4th floor was eerily silent in contrast to lower floors. With the Hospital's patients and staff safe, Shizune could get serious. She concentrated and made her hands glow blue. The chakra scalpel technique… Her technique had evolved and she no longer needed physical touch to make the technique work. There weren't many occupied rooms but she recognized a familiar presence as she scanned the floor. After beckoning the patients to stay quiet, she carefully approached Sai's room, checking for guards, sensing only one of them.

Shizune stormed in Sai's room fired a first shot of poisoned needles at Somuku who jumped aside just in time. Shizune dashed at him, kicked him out of the room and followed him in the corridor. Somuku had no time to properly react and the dagger phased through him, forcing him to kneel in pain. Shizune finished him off with a poisoned kiss. Somuku dropped dead seconds after.

"Are you okay?" she asked the watching Sai

"I will be." He answered with a smile "There are 2 more of them ready to make the pharmacy explode."

Shizune nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Inside the pharmacy, Kazuri and Hayato were keeping watch. Outside, in a nearby tree, Shizune was planning her attack. She had still enough chakra left to use her signature jutsu but using it inside the pharmacy would just ruin the goods. An open fight was not possible either for the same reason. But she had only little time left, not to mention Gai would need treatment when he would be done with the ROOT captain. Suddenly, she had an idea. Whether it would work or not was at best iffy but there were hardly any other options at hand, since she was alone against two. She ate a food pill and focused on her enemies. She had to wait for them to come closer to one of the windows…

Inside the building, said ROOT agents were tense. Moriya did not seem to come back and that was bad news. If their chief had been defeated, it meant they were most likely the last two standing.

"I don't feel Moriya-taicho's chakra anymore…" Hayato said darkly "His opponent's is still present though…"

"Stop it!" Kazuri snapped "Don't disturb me I feel someone watching us…"

Hayato made it to the window and looked around only to have Shizune bursting inside and impaling him on her chakra daggers. She turned to Kazuri who had taken a defensive stance and shot two needles at him from her mouth. Kazuri easily dodged them and performed a quick ignition jutsu to put the room on fire. However, the kunai Shizune planted in his back stopped him dead.

"Shit… transformation jutsu… and shadow… clone…" Kazuri uttered as Shizune's clone disappeared while the original one gave Hayato one last kiss.

"Sorry. I don't have enough stamina and chakra to make a shadow clone use advanced techniques such as chakra blades. I wasn't sure to score a hit with my needles since you'd be on defensive mode after I'd struck your teammate. Thus I simply turned my clone to a needle."

"This was…a cowardly…trick"

Shizune approached the dying shinobi "At this point, I don't care about your views on so-called fair play. Now I have a lot of work to do. So…" She thrust one of her immaterial daggers to his heart, killing him instantly.

The Hospital's Chief concentrated one more time and created 5 clones of herself to produce more antidote for the drug while she would go searching for Gai. She went on the Hospital's rooftop to scan the area and spotted him lying inertly on the lawn. She jumped off to him but he was way too heavy for her to hoist and carry him back inside. She was about to seek help from the staff when someone called on her.

"Shizune-san!"

At the gate, Genma, Matsuri and Iruka were standing, carrying unconscious Kurenai and bandaged up Ebisu. All around them were Genins from the Academy.

"What happened to you guys?"

"Too long to explain! Kurenai needs intensive care and we need to have Iruka and Ebisu tended to as well!" Genma answered, panting

"Alright. Matsuri-san, help me carry Gai inside. Kids, some of you please get my fellows down here to help us. They are in the 2nd floor." Shizune ordered "Thank Kami you're all alive! It will be easier to dispatch the antidote to our fellows."

"By the way" Matsuri asked "Does anyone knows where Lady Hinata is?"

"Right here!" a female voice patronized from above.

All peered up and made out a bloodied Ofuyo standing against the sunlight on the opposite roof, holding a gravely injured Hinata who was too weakened to muster any resistance.

"It's the bitch we fought in the Academy!" Iruka stated "I thought we had killed her!"

"Don't move! Not an inch!" the dark-skinned ROOT shouted "If I see any of you act funny, you know what will happen." She said as she pointed a kunai at Hinata's throat.

"What do you want?" Shizune asked back "Get to the point, we have no time to waste!"

"Here is the deal: I will let your medics give her proper medical attention under the condition that you all surrender immediately. Otherwise, I'll just finish her off right here and now. I don't think the Hokage will ever forgive you having let his wife die at our hands."

"As if you could do anything!" Genma snarked "You're alone against all of us, you cunt!"

"Shut up Genma!" Shizune snapped "No time for fake bravado! Just accept the deal!"

"WHAT?"

"Judging by her state, she's in critical condition! If we delay it more, it'd be over for her and possibly for Kurenai and Gai! What's more important to you? Pride or saving lives?"

Genma had no answer to this.

"Although I understand your point, Shizune-san, there is no guarantee that she'll play it clean. Her goal is to do away with us, not to do us favors. Hinata-sama's life is of no value to her…" Ebisu put in.

"Do we even have a choice?" Shizune asked rhetorically

"I'm growing impatient…" Ofuyo taunted. But she wouldn't wait any longer. A long staff hit her at the temple, knocking her out for good.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" a juvenile voice cheered from above "We just got here!"

Standing cockily on the roof, Konohamaru and his team were here. Time had changed them a great deal as well. Konohamaru still had his trademark scarf but was now sporting a goatee, in remembrance of his uncle. The tallest of the three, he now wore brown pants, a black, sleeveless ninja top and the mandatory Chunin vest. A pair of fingerless gloves completed the outfit. He also carried along his black Bo staff, his preferred weapon in battle.

All grown up Moegi displayed a comely female form. Wearing grey cycling shorts, Chunin vest and a simple, long-sleeved pink ninja tunic, her bunches had also grown longer and were not standing like rabbit ears on her head anymore. She had recently opted for the same protection boots Anko-sensei was wearing.

Lastly, Udon was perhaps the one who had changed the most. Still recognizable with his sleepy eyes and his glasses, his shape was that of a math-obsessed nerd no more, even though he still liked the subject with a passion. His saliently toned body could be discerned under his Chunin vest and his plain blue shirt. Standard shinobi pants and hand bandages constituted the rest of his clothing. Ultimately, he seemed to have come to terms with his runny nose problems, but prone to sneezing still.

"What are you guys doing here? I thought you were out on a mission with Raidou…" Ebisu asked, a little irritated but he didn't have the strength to berate them properly due to his injuries

"We'll explain to you later, Sensei!" Udon answered quickly as he tied up and gagged a still knocked out Ofuyo

"Careful Moegi!" Konohamaru said as his teammate hoisted up the barely conscious First Lady very gently before taking her to Shizune. As the rest of the medical team arrived, the group entered the Hospital to heal and get some respite after this dreadful day.

_Shino and his team, meanwhile…_

"How is he doing?" Shino asked

"He'll be fine. He just has to rest tonight." Sakura answered as she finished Kiba's bandage "But the gash is completely closed so he won't bleed anymore. It will still sting you for one day or two but nothing else. You'll be able to remove your bandage when we settle tonight."

Kiba chuckled in gratefulness and gave Sakura an appreciative wink. "You're one hell of a woman, Sakura!"

"Thank you, Sakura-san!" Hanabi added gently.

Hinata's sister was actually trying to alleviate Akamaru who had been howling and yapping like crazy at the sight of his wounded master. By caressing and speaking softly to the mutt, she had eventually succeeded to a point.

"Can I let Akamaru near him now?" she asked the medic

"Now you can."

The Nin dog almost pounced on Kiba and literally washed him with his tongue.

"I don't think this is very hygienic, Kiba!" Sakura berated

"Whatever. There are other things we need to worry about now, Sakura." Shino put in "When you're ready Kiba, we'll go and reunite with our comrades."

Hanabi was kneeling next to Kiba and was caressing his forehead gently.

"Hanabi-san, you shouldn't be doing that." Kankuro said "Not in public"

Hanabi's tone was cold "Why is that? He's been hurt."

"Because it's the first cardinal rule of relationships between shinobis." Sakura explained "Do you remember Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei?"

"No."

"That's the point. No one unfamiliar to them knew about their relationship. And both would never openly admit to it. Don't get us wrong. It is not forbidden. You just have to be very discreet about it. You can even lie about it if it's more convenient to you. But never, ever, show any outward sign of personal involvement. The simple fact that Shino guessed you out should have already warned you."

"They are right, babe." Kiba said in a rare serious tone "When on missions or before our comrades, we are partners and nothing else. The bound we have could be used against us if we are too careless."

"Right. Sorry I just got carried away." Hanabi said in an even colder voice before standing up, causing Kiba to send a reproachful gaze at both Kankuro and Sakura.

"Can you stand up now, Kiba?" Shino asked impassively

"We can go, I'll ride on Akamaru."

The whole squad took off silently. Hidden in a bush of privets, the quiet watcher with glasses had observed the scene. Her chakra signature was carefully concealed thanks to her bloodline limit. She had especially scrutinized the girl with the pink hair…

'_Retribution always comes late. A saying __you will try in the worst way soon, you billboard-brow, flat-chested cunt!'_

_Main Battlefield, late afternoon…_

"Well it looks like all of you could manage to fend off quite well." Naruto said with a satisfied smile "Alright then, if everyone's ready, we'll just continue on our way."

"Naruto, there are things we have to discuss…" Shikamaru said with concern

"We will discuss it as soon as we settle. But we need to close the distance between us and the Land of Sound the more we can before it's too dark and before we're too tired." Gaara said

Kakashi conjured a map and called on his fellow team leaders.

"We don't have much time left but we can make it up to here before sunset." He pointed a rather secluded area next to the Land of Fire's river spring, not very far from the Land of the Rice Fields border. "If I remember correctly, there is a gorge over there and we'll be able to bathe and refresh before we sleep."

"Good. Neji are you fit enough to lead the way in case nightfall comes to soon?" Shikamaru asked

"I can but try. But in any case, Hanabi-san can take the job if I don't have enough chakra left."

"Fine." Naruto said "Everybody ready?"

A collective Yes answered him.

"Then let's go!"

All blinked out and went further toward the Land of Sound, all the way guided by the fading daylight.


	19. Misty Cascade

**A/N: WARNING! LEMONS & LIME AHEAD!**

**

* * *

  
**

_Land of Fire, Gorge of__ Springs, dusk…_

The Land of Fire's largest river originated from there: a huge cascade hidden in an almost inaccessible gorge where lush vegetation would grow. Needless to say the place was hardly ever visited by anyone. The perfect spot to enjoy what little time they had before attacking Otogakure.

All of them settled on a woody cliff facing the falls. It was indeed impossible to camp anywhere else all together. The night hadn't fallen completely yet and the last lights of the day were still giving this special orange tinge to the crests of the gorge, while birdsongs and other animals' cries echoed on the walls. Down below, the pouring water's sprays were turning to fresh mist, hiding partly the large flat granite rocks the water crashed on before streaming down to a great pool and flowing in an underground cataract.

"Get back" Yamato said "I'll mount the camp myself"

Yamato put his hands on the ground and 6 large wooden huts sprung out. He turned to his mates with a satisfied smile.

"Do you like it?"

"I think it will do perfectly" Naruto agreed "Alright then, does anybody want to enjoy the waterfall before it's too cold?"

Temari and the girls were already jumping down to the natural shower, yelling back at the staring males:

"Ladies first and don't you dare peek, you perverts!"

With that, the kunoichis stripped off their garments and left them on a nearby dry spot with shrubs before splashing and soaking in the water. After a day like this, taking a shower felt like heaven on earth. As the fall's coolness washed their tiredness away, all the kunoichis closed their eyes and shut down their mind for a little while before diving in the natural pool. Temari swam a little before sitting on one of the underwater rocks. Upwards, she could see the last glimmers of the day fading and the first stars appearing. The mist around was giving the whole sight an almost ghostly yet strangely calming feeling. As her gaze got lost in the sky's infinity, Temari replayed the last weeks' events in her mind. Everything had been turned upside down in just a few days. Her carefully planned life schedule had puffed up in smoke and her affair with Shikamaru had gone public… She remembered talking with him about how a ninja should always know how to adapt to their environment, no matter how impractical it was. They will have to discuss this tonight anyways. All the girls had taken a spot in the pool. Everything was perfect for quite a while, until a voice called from above:

"Girls! Stop hogging the spot! We'd like to wash up as well!"

All girls glared up and saw a stupidly sneering Naruto peeking over them. Sakura took a big pebble and hurled it forcefully at the offending prick, hitting him straight in the face.

"What was that for, you PMS-cow?" Naruto screamed down to his pissed off mate

"What did we say about peeking, you little pervert? You want me to leak this to Hinata once we're home?"

"You do that and I…"

"Oh shut up, you morons!" Anko cut in as she gathered up her clothes "Kakashi! Toss some towels down here, will ya!"

15 minutes later, all the kunoichis were sitting around the vividly crackling campfire as the men went down in the pool themselves, even Chouji and Kiba with some help from their fellows. Chouji's legs had almost completely recovered from their brush with necrosis but Kiba remained wary of the huge bruise coloring his side. All of them relaxed and eased off in the coolness of the water while the ladies were warming up to the heat of the fire. In the reflections of the water, Shikamaru was drowning his nervousness and his worries.

_This shit is becoming even more troublesome than an afternoon with my mother… _he thought. _It's only a matter of time before we're publicly exposed. Let's hope no one else knows about Temari's pregnancy else we're fucked for good._

On the other side of the pool, Kiba was sitting next to Shino and called out for Sakura.

"Hey, Sakura! Can I remove the bandage now?"

The female voice answered from high up:

"Yes! Just have someone help you doing it if it smarts too much!"

"Good!"

Kiba began to undo the bandage carefully, gritting his teeth in pain. Shino for his part was reflecting silently about the recent events…

_Something is definitely not right about this. Madara lets himself getting spotted. He kidnaps Konan and then kills Danzo. He lets Anko and Yamato live when they confront him, which all reeks of trap. And then Kakashi and his team meet Kabuto who seems to be fully aware of Madara's presence and helps them out, saying he won't get involved any further… It doesn't make any sense. Both of them have further motives. Incompatible ones or so it seems. We really need to talk about all this tonight._

The night had finally settled in and the waxing moon's beams were turning the cascade's mist to a strange twinkling veil. It was time for information exchange, practical discussions and revelations, so to speak.

"And he went away? He didn't say anything at all?" Naruto asked in disbelief

"It's not the first time we see him acting strange like that." Yamato answered "That one time, when you turned to 4-tails against Orochimaru, he healed up Sakura when you injured her. He did so because he found interest in us wiping out the Akatsuki. If he helped us out that time, it means he finds equal interest in the demise of Madara Uchiha and would rather have us doing it in his stead. How the death of Madara would benefit him, this is what we must find out when we're done with our business with said person."

"We'll have more information about the situation in Konoha tomorrow when my beetles are back." Shino added "But I have the feeling that things have been pretty ugly up there."

"Good job, Shino. Speaking of Kabuto, the type of jutsu that has been used against Gaara and I is not one that ROOT would use. Only a few persons know about such forbidden techniques and even fewer would dare to use them." Naruto said, earnestly "Which means those guys we met were Kabuto's henchmen."

"This is what I have sensed back then." Neji put in "When we fought them but since we were in the midst of a battle I couldn't focus properly to spot and analyze said presence. But I'm pretty sure they were there all along and have waited for the right moment to act."

"It was just a test though" Gaara said "The undead army we had to face was pretty weak just like the ones that were sent after us."

"The strongest of their organization remained in Konoha to take control while we were away. The girl we have interrogated mentioned Danzo's murder and him giving his last instructions to his right-hand man, Amano Shibashi. We know little about said instructions but it seems that all has been orchestrated by Madara himself since the beginning. It was sort of a back up plan would his initial scheme with Akatsuki fail. Which has been the case." Temari said

"Before Hanabi-san called me out to heal Kiba, I have felt the presence of someone watching us from afar. It wasn't Kabuto since he was already with Kakashi-sensei and his team at that time and it was no clone since they don't emit any aura whatsoever. It was a particularly hostile presence but I couldn't find out where the person was." Sakura added

"They must have been using a chakra concealment technique." Kiba said "I caught a foreign smell back then when we were up against the last ROOTS but I was too caught up in the fight to actually identify the person. All I can assert is that this person was no ROOT."

Shikamaru was sitting there, calmly ingesting the information his comrades had gathered. When the whole picture was covered, he took his standard meditation stance. There were only a few options for tomorrow. And before anything else, they had to check if Otogakure's defence had remained unchanged which was somewhat unlikely.

"Ino" he said "First thing during your shift, you'll use a bird to scout the borders and report everything to us. Shino's bugs emit chakra thus they risk being spotted."

"All right"

"We'll plan our infiltration according to your report." Naruto added "Now it's time to rest so let's establish the shifts. Seeing how much time we've got left, there will be 3 of them. Who's volunteering for the first one?"

"I'll do it." Sakura said

"Me and Chouji" Ino seconded

"Huh?" the kind giant muttered

"Yes, you'll stay with me!" Ino said with a disarming smile "You'll watch my body while I'm away, won't you?"

"Er…Well… I guess …" Chouji said with an awkward smile

Hanabi was watching the scene with much interest. She sent a quick glance at Kiba who returned a firm look.

"_So they get to show intimacy and I can't…" _she thought _"What was that bit about discretion earlier then?" _

"I'll do it as well." Yamato added

"So will I" Lee said with a nice guy pose

"That will do for the first shift" Gaara said "Second shift will be assured by Naruto and I. Who's joining us?"

"I will" Kankuro said "You coming?" he asked Kiba who nodded in agreement

"I'll do it too" Hanabi said

"Then so will we" Neji seconded and speaking for TenTen who would follow him anyways

The youngest Hyuga hardly avoided to curse at her cousin. Why wouldn't he let her live every once in a while? But she already knew the answer. It was Neji's duty to look after her as a member of the side branch of the clan. Hinata was now in a position where such measures would only apply under special circumstances. For Hanabi, the regular code was still on though. Even more so when one was still 15 years old. She sucked it up.

"Alright then. That leaves Shikamaru, Temari, Shino, Anko and Kakashi for the last shift. Are you okay with this?" Naruto asked

All assented.

"Well isn't that great, Temari?" Ino said with a shit-eating grin

"Be very careful about what you're going to say to me, little girl, I'm in no mood!"

"Oh? Too bad, Shikamaru. No nookie tonight!"

Temari couldn't restrain her outburst **"Ino, time to choose. Do you prefer my fan in your face or up your butt?"**

"Stop it, you two!" Shikamaru tempered "Ino you shut up, Temari you calm down! Now is not the time!"

"Exactly. Now is time for rest." Naruto ordered his fellows "Ino, Chouji, Lee, Sakura and Yamato will stay there while everyone else goes sleeping."

"But…"

"**NOW!** Whichever you have to argue about, you'll have plenty of time to settle it when we finish the mission. Disband and go to your huts or anywhere else but I don't wanna hear ANYTHING until tomorrow morning. End of story."

With that, everyone went to their respective huts while Lee, Sakura, Yamato, Chouji and Ino stayed around the campfire. Yamato conjured more logs in order to feed the fire all through the night.

Inside the gorge, the silent ballet of bats and moths replaced the songbirds' serenade, leaving only the sound of the waterfall to fill the night. Sakura gazed longingly at the stars…

Danzo ratted on us so there is no use to hide the truth any longer.

In his own hut, Kakashi was lying down, gently relaxing, letting his mind wander for a while. He had been down this road for so long now. He had never dreamed he'd still be alive at 34. But, although his form was still that of a fit and healthy man he knew that he would have to seriously consider retirement after this mission and become an inactive Nin… The Sharingan of Obito was eventually taking its toll after all these years and although he also had greatly improved his fighting style, the time had come for him to let the new generation take the lead.

He remembered his time as a child in the academy.

His time under the rule of Minato Namikaze.

Obito and Rin… Two teammates who would fall under the fires of the Great War. How he had to leave Obito to die behind and how Rin got slain at the hands of a Grass shinobi with nothing he could do…

Minato and Kushina… How Minato died and finally had to implant the dreaded Kyuubi in his own son, sealing his own fate and that of a willing Kushina in the bargain. The birth of Naruto, the death of Kushina, how he met Jiraiya… The tutelage of Team 7… How destiny would inevitably repeat itself...Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto… How powerless he had been one more time, unable to prevent anything from going to shit in the end… Akatsuki and their vicious schemes… His battles with the Rock Shinobis, Itachi Uchiha, Zabuza Momochi and Haku, Tobi/Madara, Deidara, Akasuna no Sasori and of course Pein who almost had him dead…

And his subsequent 3 years of service drained him more than he would have imagined… Tsunade had appointed him as the taskmaster of Konoha's reconstruction which he accepted. But it had been too much, even for him. Too much responsibility, too much demanding activities and not enough time to handle it all… Not to mention that Tsunade ordered him to continue on mentoring Naruto since she meant to have him as her successor. But he succeeded in doing so as well, never letting anyone see him stressed out or simply down because the weight of his tasks was too much sometimes…

All these fights, all that bloodshed, all that work, all this time, all these names that didn't mean anything anymore except to those who were still there to remember… His life had mostly been a solitary path with some scarce sequences of happiness such as reading the Make-Out Paradise series and spending time with Naruto, Sai, Sakura and Yamato at the Ichiraku Ramen store or with Sasuke when he was still loyal to Konoha. Deep inside, he felt the pain of these losses, the sadness of ending up alone ultimately… His easy-going, cool demeanour was only a façade that only a few persons had seen through.

And among them was the energetic Anko. A happenstance 2 years ago was all it took for them to hook up. Anko had just split with Ibiki Morino when she met Kakashi at the Teal Moth bar. He had always thought her enticing with that mesh bodysuit of hers that hardly hid her busty silhouette. But her abrasive behaviour and tomboyish manners felt unsexy albeit amusing to the laid-back Copy Ninja who had a rather stereotypical idea of the perfect woman, partly due to his constant reading of Jiraiya's sexual fantasies. To Anko, he was a good pal. One of the few able to alleviate the sufferings caused by her curse mark, the constant memento of her traumatic past as Orochimaru's Guinea pig. She had never seen Kakashi's face so she never felt attracted to him whatsoever even though she always liked his way of talking. And mystery wasn't everything. Some small talk over a couple of sake cups and they ended up stark naked in Kakashi's place a few hours later. As the grey-haired Jounin senior remembered quietly the steamy episode, Orochimaru's former pupil came in his hut.

"About time!" Kakashi joked leisurely

Anko feigned a scowl before sniping back "Impatience huh? From someone who's always late, it's rather ironical…"

"Is that so? Well then I'll just go to sleep… Good night!" the former leader of Team 7 turned around, seemingly doing so

"Good night Kakashi!" Anko answered unabashed before letting her hair loose, stripping off her trench coat, her skirt and her protection boots. She took the sleeping bag out of her backpack, spread it on the rest board just across her lover and set about sleeping, wearing nothing but her usual fishnet. Nothing but her usual fishnet…

"Anko"

"What now?" she answered, mildly irritated

"Cover up. You're turning me on."

"I'm fine just as I am. You don't like it, go sleep in Shino's hut, there's a vacant bed over there! Or you can just masturbate for all I care but please be quiet."

"I said cover up." Kakashi ordered, turning to her this time "Now"

Anko returned his glare, not bothering to hide her breasts "Or what?" she defied him

The Copy Ninja stood up and almost closed the distance between them.

"Cover up or I **take** you."

His voice was deeper than usual and he had removed both his headband and his mask, although his face still remained in the shadows. He was serious.

She didn't answer and stared right back at him. A few seconds later, he was spread all over her and fondling her vigorously. They hadn't done it since their last mission and she had been titillating him all the way since they left Konoha this morning.

"Told you that you would get what was coming to you!" he said as he gently bit her nape right under the hairline, making her moan "Now just brace yourself! I've been waiting for this for too damn long. I won't be satisfied with a quickie!"

"That's a program I am more than willing to undergo, Kakashi!"

She stripped him from his pants. There had been too much tension, too much strain during the last weeks. So much indeed, that Anko swiftly took Kakashi's shirt off him as he forcefully zipped off her taut mesh.

"This body… You shouldn't keep it away from me for so long!" Kakashi panted as he nibbled all along the Snake Mistress's legs "What were you thinking when you rebuffed me last night, huh?"

"It's just I like it better when you go hard on me…" she gasped

The grey haired Jounin proceeded to kiss her unexpectedly delicate toes, making her arch her back in surprise and delight.

"Kakashi… It's the first time…"

"Shut up and moan!" he commanded

And she did just that, not caring if anyone could hear. Her body was being completely run through by ecstatic electricity that prevented her from thinking straight. She eventually tried to muffle her whimpers with her sleeping bag when her lover began to lick her soles. Kakashi for his part always wanted to try this. Jiraiya's books, for being somewhat perverted, were still an inexhaustible resource of fantasies and enjoyable foreplay. Having a partner willing to experiment in bed was all what Kakashi had been wishing for. And Anko fitted the bill just fine. Her mischievousness also applied in private.

"Well, it's time we get serious, don't you think?" Kakashi said as he began to flip her over and frankly biting in her firm buttocks. "No is not a valid answer."

"Yes… but let's do it my way!" Anko said with a playful smirk, stroking casually the Copy Ninja's manhood. "Hard as steel…" she whispered before going on top of him.

She hovered over him and began to run her hands all over his body, feeling his muscles under her fingers. She then began to kiss eagerly his torso all the way down to his privates. Kakashi couldn't suppress a groan when Anko put his tip in her mouth. His hands glided in her hair and before long, he returned the favor by hoisting her above him so he could forage properly between her legs and suck gently on that sweet little raspberry he couldn't get enough of. Her squeals were muted by what she had in her mouth; she hardly could contain herself when she felt his tongue slithering inside her. After getting on top of her again, Kakashi took her in his arms, got up and pinned her to the wall. Anko locked her legs behind his back, letting him plough her vigorously, their bodies slamming against one another, harder and harder. Droplets of heat were beginning to bead on the walls…

_In Shikamaru's hut, meanwhile…_

The hut was not exactly comfortable but, given the circumstances, they could consider themselves lucky to even have a roof to sleep under. Yamato's skills really came in handy for that matter. Both Shikamaru and Temari had tacitly agreed to play discreet that time as well, even though they had been ratted out, so to speak. They would have enough trouble dealing with their respective homelands' councils when this expedition is over. If they get out of it alive, that is. Thus, making themselves easy targets for their comrades' catcalls and gossip was really unnecessary right now.

Shikamaru was lying on his rest bench, a cigarette between two fingers. It has been such a hectic day and they were all alive and well. Luck in its purest form? Some would disagree. Real luck would be if they could actually escape unscathed from the clutches of Madara Uchiha. Which was everything but certain. He had agreed to take on his guard turn with Shino and Kakashi. All three would have to discuss the current situation and inform Naruto and Gaara tomorrow. Temari had sent her little marten to inform Konoha while Ino would give info tomorrow.

And at this very moment Shikamaru really missed Asuma. The taste of tobacco was reminding him of the good old days where they would play Shogi all day long in the Nara grounds. But he preferred not to go to such a place for now. His heart and soul had suffered sufficiently from his sensei's death, no need to reopen old wounds. A rustling noise came from the bushes outside, making him grasp on the nearest kunai. The door creaked open slowly…

"Who is it?" he asked, all his senses in red light mode.

No one came in. At least so it seemed. But when Temari appeared in front of him, he was not actually surprised.

"Sharing my room with Sakura, I don't mind this…" she said "But since she's guarding the fire I'm alone in my hut and it felt a little lonely… Anyway it's no use to hide it any longer, right?"

"Since when did you learn to use invisibility genjutsu?"

She rolled her eyes. "Dear, this is a very simple technique that any good Jounin knows about! It's part of the basics…"

"Oh yeah? Well I can't use it…"

"You mean you've been around Kurenai-san all this time and never asked her to teach you this?"

"Nah! Too troublesome! I already got enough to do with my father's teachings…"

"You know, sometimes I really wonder why I'm going out with you. You're a lazy and abusive smartass with no interest in life other than shougi and sleeping!"

"Same for me. You're just an inconsiderate and sadistic bitch."

Temari went next to him and put her hand on a very sensitive location.

"Do you remember what I said about you calling me a bitch?" she asked with a dangerous smile

Shikamaru dropped a sweat.

"I do."

"Last free pass. Next time, consider yourself a eunuch."

"Pity. I was planning to make you come a few more times…"

She couldn't suppress her laugh. She sat on his rest board before lying next to him.

"I haven't cracked a laugh since such a long time. Thank you…"

"See? Looks like I can still score some points to have you in my bed!" Shikamaru quipped

Temari's reaction was immediate: a good slap to the head.

"And being cocksure is not going to help."

"You're the one to talk about cockiness, woman!"

"Stop talking." she said before taking away his cigarette and kissing him deeply, effectively muffling his protests.

Shikamaru tried to struggle but feeling her body rubbing on his quickly got the better of his resistance. But when she began to remove his pants and underwear, he fought her grip.

"I'm not in the mood Temari!" Shikamaru said with a frown

"Sorry, I beg to differ" she answered with a smirk "If you're so uninterested, why is 'it' standing up so tall?"

"Natural reflex, period." He said as he tried awkwardly to cover his raging stiffness

"Really? Then how about we make sure…" she said as she mounted him cowgirl-style

"Wait… **huh?**" Shikamaru's eyes were wide with surprise "You… You don't have a…" he stuttered as he realized that he was inside of her

She leaned towards him with a self-satisfied grin

"Do I need underwear when I'm sleeping with you?"

Shikamaru was too surprised to even think of a deadpan quip. She felt so warm, so exciting… He was growing even harder as he felt her moist entrance getting tighter.

"Wait we mustn't do that here! They'll hear!"

"Not if you keep quiet, crybaby!"

"I wasn't talking about me, Miss Attitude!"

Temari leaned in even futher.

"Shut up and bang me!"

She quieted him again with a heated, deep kiss and began grinding on his appendage slowly, making him swell even more inside of her… Shikamaru was trying hard not to utter a moan. Temari took off her obi and her kimono while Shikamaru also removed his shirt. As the heat escalated, Temari held onto the wooden walls while Shikamaru pounded inside her, harder and harder, each trying to make the other utter a loud sound of pleasure.

"Don't…even…try… crybaby…aah!" Temari huffed "I have much more…oh… endurance than you…"

"Really?... Well…I… wow… will make you…wish… oh fuck yeah!… that you never… pro…nounced … these words!" he muttered

Shikamaru outreached for her disheveled hair and curled her to him before fighting her hold and forcing her on all fours.

"What do you think you're doing!" she said aloud

"Just giving you a piece of your own medicine, Temari. I'm tired of you dominating me each and every time" he whispered "Tonight, I'm in charge!"

Shikamaru himself was surprised to utter such words but his male pride had been brought down too many times. It was time for a little payback.

"As if!" she replied as low as she could before trying to fight him back again and effectively slipping one of her arms loose.

"Then you give me no choice!"

Before the blonde Sunan knew it, she was tied up and gagged by her lover's Shadow Tendrils. Shikamaru had only used it once before and found himself even more aroused by the sight of his woman completely submitted to him. It was such a rare sight. Temari leered back at him with utter rage.

"Fuck yeah! That's how I want it!" Shikamaru said before throwing away his pants and underwear and pulling her on top of him so he could properly eat her out.

Temari was livid. How dared he use his technique on her once more? But she was soon too overridden by pleasure waves to think straight. Shikamaru was being unusually wild yet his tenderness was still present. She never liked being in that position of total submissiveness but she had to admit the Smoking Genius knew how to make it feel good. After all, why not letting him take the lead for this once? She eventually decided to let go and let her man have his way.

Shikamaru devoured her entirely from ear to toe. Her face, her beasts, her buttocks, her legs… He wanted it all! He couldn't stand it anymore and suddenly thrust himself inside of her. She didn't struggle. He had won. He removed his tendrils…

_Somewhere else, in the Land of Sound, meanwhile…_

The Otokage's headquarters were none other than Orochimaru's former lair. The outward appearance of said HQ's was nothing special: only a simple entrance to an underground den, very similar to all the other annexes. Yet inside, a countless set of convoluted tunnels where leading to the private quarters of the Otokage. On the corridors' walls, rumours of a heated row were resonating…

"Certainly not! You've been reckless enough to approach them without my validation and that's more than I would even tolerate from my aides. You're not to go near any of them anymore."

"Give me a fucking good reason why I should abide by this!" she demanded

"Because of your responsibilities up here, stupid! And don't use this tone when talking to me!" Kabuto disciplined

"**I talk to you the way I want to! **You can't…" a heavy slap across the face interrupted her anger feat.

"Have you forgotten what you owe me, you tart?" Kabuto scolded the offender "Do you want to meet your end the same way Sasuke-kun did?"

"Me? A tart?" she replied as she wiped the blood streak off her mouth "I'm not the one who offered my ass to Orochimaru-sama to get where I am now!"

"Right. You only sucked his dick…"

"Whose dick I want to suck is my problem, you brownnosing bitch!"

"Can you say a sentence without swearing like an uneducated little brat?" Kabuto said tiredly "Sasuke was right! You're really a nuisance! In any case, what made you go spying on them when I had forbidden anyone to leave the country while I was away?"

"I wanted to see her!"

"What? You haven't gotten over her after all this time?"

"**That cunt left me for dead!**" she screeched "I demand retribution!"

"Your demands, nothing. Don't you think there are much more important things to worry about than petty revenge by now? Look what such kind of behaviour did to the one you loved…"

"I don't care! It's not my fault, if he's been stupid enough to attack someone much stronger than him!"

"And you believe you're not doing just the same?"

"I believe I have the right to avenge myself and Sasuke for what she did! I can't stand the idea of seeing her live a happy life. I want to see her die at my hands!"

"What about the true responsible for Sasuke's death?"

"I'm not stupid. I know I can't take on someone that powerful."

"So you're taking it out on her…And what if you fail?" Kabuto said, unimpressed

"Then I'll let you do what you want to me and also…" she pointed at the door of the room

Kabuto sighed heavily "Fine! Do what you want. But I won't save you this time. If you do fail, never return in here. Not even to reclaim…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, spare me your irrelevant condescendence!"

With that, she stomped out of the room. A young Sound Chunin who was watching the argument said:

"Otokage-sama, if I may, I don't understand why you put up with her in the first place…"

"I have very good reasons, believe me. But she can go and get her revenge for all I care. I just felt it was better for this person if she was around but in the end, she just doesn't seem to care so…"

The young Chunin nodded in agreement.

_Madara's lair, a little while__ later, Madara's bedroom…_

Konan wasn't sleeping. She couldn't. Not with that man next to her who had sullied her body earlier on. But what could she do right now? Try to escape again and be brought back? Useless. Go in the cellar and try to sabotage whatever plans Madara had for it? Too risky. She might be stronger than she used to be, she was no match for such a powerhouse. Kill her former boss in his sleep? Sharingan users are aware of the world around them even when they're sleeping. Trying something now was pointless.

Playing the damsel-in-distress was really not her cup of tea but she had no other choice. Even though there were no physical binds, her hands were tied all the same. Thus, she finally gave in and tried to get some sleep. That was all what she could do right now.

_Land of Fire, Gorge of Springs, meanwhile…_

Ino, Chouji, Yamato and Sakura were sitting around the fire while Lee was meditating in the waterfall to test his resistance to cold. Also, he preferred not to do the whole small talk thingy with Sakura. When Sasuke died, he believed he might have a chance with her but she had chosen Sai over him. Why she would choose such a ridiculously insensitive, penis-obsessed weirdo was beyond him but he accepted it anyway.

And he moved on, realizing that there was more to life than unrequited love. Thus he continued on perfecting his taijutsu and had now his own Genin team under his responsibility. One thing he had learnt from his time under Gai, and indirectly from Kakashi , was that nothing was guaranteed in such a lifestyle, especially not friends, lovers or family. He considered himself lucky to still have his sensei around as well as his comrades of the Konoha 12. His relationship with Neji had also evolved from tolerance to mutual respect and esteem. But buddy-buddy was something he'd do more with Naruto who was always happy to spar with him every once in a while. Lee focused on the feeling of the water streaming down his naked body, slowly entering a trance nearing catatonia…

Up above, near the campfire, Chouji, Ino and Yamato were talking and eating some scraps of the frugal dinner they had altogether earlier on. Sakura was only pretending to listen but her mind was elsewhere.

"Sakura? Sakura?" Yamato called. No answer. "HEY SAKURA!"

"Huh? Wha-what?"

"I was asking if you were alright… But judging by your reaction, I assume not…"

"No, I'm good. What makes you say that?"

"You're very quiet… It's very unusual from you…"

"Yeah, we hardly heard you talking since the beginning of the mission… What's wrong?" Ino inquired

"I'm fine… It's just…This mission… It makes me recall so many things I thought I was really over by now. But it looks like I am not. I already fought that man and his minions but after what I saw last time, I don't know if I'll be able to face him again. He's the reason why Sasuke became …"

"This is where you're wrong, Sakura" Ino cut "Sasuke **wanted** to get revenge back in the days and he chose that life of his own free will. He turned his back on you, Naruto and Kakashi. And in the end, he stopped giving a shit about you, if he ever did in the first place."

"How can you say that?" Sakura cried "You know he cared about us in his way."

"It couldn't last long. When someone is so hellbent on getting revenge, they can't care about anything else. Hence his end. And what you did to that hussy he was fucking…"

"I won't take that crap from you, Ino! If you had been in my position, you would have done the same if not worse. Sasuke had just died and all that skank could do was dangling their relationship in front of me! How was I supposed to react? I don't even know why Sasuke fucked her!"

"Clan revival…She was in the right place at the right time, I guess" Ino suggested

"Stop it girls!" Yamato tempered "Sakura, Ino is right. Sasuke decided to leave Konoha and what happened from then on is his own fault. He chose to kill his brother, he chose to follow Madara Uchiha in his schemes and he chose to ditch his friends. There was nothing any of you could do about it. Whichever, past is past and turning it over in your head just hurts you pointlessly. Sasuke is dead and now the problem is Madara Uchiha, the one we should focus on is him. If you want to avenge Sasuke, this is your chance."

The medic quieted down and looked away. Deep down, she knew they were right. But heartbreak died hard. And after loosing Sasuke, she also had to loose Naruto to Hinata. This had been quite predictable considering what happened upon the destruction of Konoha. This left her with people that could easily be seen as consolation prizes, namely Lee and Sai. She chose the latter because he reminded her of Sasuke, physically. Nevertheless she genuinely cared about him, despite his rude honesty and his social awkwardness. Spending time with him , visiting Tazuna and his family in the Wave country and getting news from Tsunade were the only things that could bring her solace.

But now that she had to face this demon once again, dead things were being unearthed. Why couldn't she move on after all that time?

"Sakura, are you sure you're okay?" Ino asked with real concern

"I will be. I have to anyways." And then turning to her friend "It's thoughtful of you to ask" she said with a smile.

"You don't have to…" Chouji put in "If you're not okay then just take it out. Putting a fake smile on will not help you either. If you want to cry, then cry. If you want to scream, then scream. But don't keep it inside."

"You really think so, Chouji?"

"I do." He said "You can't win over dark thoughts if you let them cloud your mind."

Ino went hitherto her friend and hugged her.

"We are here for you. And I mean it. "

"You're a true friend, Ino." Sakura answered with appreciation and then to Chouji "Thank you as well, Mr Meat. I think I'll go punch the water…"

Then she let her gaze loose itself in the flames dancing over the embers. The Will of Fire… Somehow, she always knew that the Land of Fire's motto had something sinister and hopeful to it at the same time. Sinister because fire can consume its wielder if he's not careful, hopeful because the more you use it , the better you understand its nature and its teachings. The whole Uchiha clan was the perfect example of the former, the 4th Hokage illustrated the latter. Why was she thinking of such things at that very moment, she didn't know. She just felt it in her that she had to, an intuition… Was it an omen? Moments later, she descended in the pool to take out her anguish on a couple of water effigies resembling Sasuke and Madara , not paying any attention to the still meditating Lee.

_Kiba's hut, a little latter…_

Kiba was sleeping soundly, Akamaru snorting on the floor. Sakura said that it wasn't very serious but an injury was an injury. It always took time to recover. Hanabi on the other hand, had trouble falling asleep. Neji had strongly disapproved of her sleeping in the same hut as Kiba but Hanabi retorted that sleeping in the same hut as her cousin and his paramour was no more inappropriate than sleeping in the same hut as a male teammate. Neji had no answer for this and stated very unconvincingly that she was mistaken about TenTen and him…

After this incident was over, she had to admit that she was undeniably changing. Warming up to someone like Kiba and daring to go against the advice of her cousin… It felt strange.

Although she would never acknowledge it, she had always thought the Inuzuka heir incredibly attractive, even back in her younger days. At first, she dismissed it as purely hormonal attraction. But the more years went by, the worse her crush got. And that was bad news.

Hanabi had to deal with the crushing pressure of being surnamed Hyuga, just like Hinata before her. She had to live up to her clan's standards and falling for someone of a "lesser" clan was not allowed. Not much was allowed to begin with. Not to mention Hiashi was being much more demanding on her than he used to be since Hinata's consecration as Konoha's First Lady. And Neji was always here to ensure she wouldn't fail to said demands.

"Something wrong?" a voice said right behind her

Hanabi started and turned over. Kiba was here, squatting right next to her. She had been so drowned in her thoughts she didn't even sense him approach.

"I thought you were asleep. Weren't you sore?"

"I'm no longer. Your scent has changed. You're troubled, right?"

"You can tell this just by sniffing me?"

"My bloodline limit, baby! So what's the problem?"

"Don't call me baby. I don't find it endearing even if I'm younger than you."

"Whoa! Feminist mode, now? Or maybe is it your period…" Kiba poked, slightly miffed by her attitude. Hanabi assumed a poker face, her usual defense mechanism. "I think I've asked you a question..."

"Yes." She answered laconically

Kiba felt his temper rising dangerously "Stop acting frigid, Hanabi. That's no way to treat the guy who saved your life a few hours ago."

"If you put it that way…" She answered, vanquished "It's nothing to worry about. Teenage angst, that's all. In other words, unimportant matters."

"If they put you in such a mood, I believe they're not so unimportant to you."

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Fine. But I want to lie next to you now, is that possible?"

Hanabi couldn't suppress a blush.

"What do you want to do with me?"

Kiba's gaze had nothing naughty to it.

"I said I want to lie next to you… I never said I wanted to do anything else."

Hanabi nodded. A silent agreement. Kiba cuddled next to her and took her in his arms, clenching his teeth in pain from his earlier wound. Hanabi got up.

"I knew you still ached. Lie on your back. You'll be in too much pain if you stay on your sides."

Kiba complied.

"Why didn't you just ask me to come over?" Hanabi asked as she lay on his unscathed side, her head on his hairy chest and her leg belting his waist.

"How would it have sounded? A guy inviting a girl to his bed… But anyways, let's just shut up. I'd like to own this moment with you."

"Right"

Kiba didn't know why but it felt as if he had just been given a balm. His wound seemed to hurt less and any annoyance he felt earlier had simply disappeared… Her scent was gradually shifting back to normal. He stroked her hair, and caressed her face.

'_Fuck! I never thought I would ever be lying anywhere with her one week ago and now it seems that she doesn't mind anything from me. My sense of smell never fails! I knew she wanted me and I do want her but why is it that I don't want to bone her now, wound aside?' _Kiba thought as he slowly approached slumber _'Her skin, it's so soft, her scent so feminine, her breasts so firm…And yet I'm just fine the way it is. Can't remember the last time I felt so good with a girl without having sex…'_

And both fell asleep softly, soothing their worries in the warmth of each other. They were dead to the world when recognizable noises were heard from the hut next to theirs…

_In said hut, meanwhile…_

Anko was on all-fours. It was becoming wild… Kakashi squeezed her cheeks, bit her back's skin, pulled her by the hair, just enough to have her bowing back to him and inserted his tongue in her mouth. His whole body was gleaming with sweat, just like his woman's. The hut was dark, and the windows had no glass. Yet, the air outside was not enough to cool down the room. Anko's blood was boiling, she felt so overwhelmed she was about to loose control. She hated Kakashi for having her so out-of-control but when she peered at him, she noticed he was just as overcome by the heat as herself. Their gazes were fixed on each other, as if hypnotized by the sight of their bodies mottled with hickeys and streaked with scratches. They had entered a trance that was taking them higher and higher as climax drew nearer and nearer.

"Do it to me, Kakashi!... Faster! Harder!" Anko huffed between two whimpers

Kakashi, for his part, felt the end of his endurance coming closer. But he wanted to make her come first, to completely destroy her. Only then, would he allow himself to explode as well. And that time came. Anko pulled her head back and bit in her sleeping bag, her screams of ecstasy could still be heard from outside. Kakashi got overridden by pleasure and her inner walls' squeezing literally finished him off. He took the sleeping bag in his mouth and roared just as loudly before collapsing on Anko and let the last spasms of climax run through him.

"Satisfied?" Anko asked playfully

"Utterly fulfilled…" Kakashi managed to say, panting "You have pleased me beyond measure. Was it good for you too?"

"You are unbelievable." Anko replied "And you're all mine! What else could I ask for?"

Kakashi smiled before gently kissing her. "I know what I'd ask for…"

"And that is…?"

"You being my blanket!"

Both laughed and went to bed, to sleep for good this time, him behind her, her body ensnared in his grip. There was still some time left before their turn. It would be enough to replenish their reserves.

_Konoha's Hospital, __Ebisu's room, in the meantime… _

Fortunately, Ebisu's injuries hadn't drained him out to much. He was lying on his bed with bandaged legs when Iruka with his arm in a shoulder strap and Matsuri with bandages on her head came to visit him.

"Good to see you're recovering well!" he greeted

"How are you doing?" Iruka asked

"Well they said that I would have to wait for a while before considering walking again but other than that, I'm pretty good. Now I've got a question for you two…"

"Yes?"

"Tell me more about what happened in the schoolyard before we got here…"

"You mean how Kurenai got…"

"Yes."

"Well back then…" Matsuri started

_Konoha Academy's yard, this afternoon…_

On the dusty ground, most ROOT kunoichis had fallen. Genma, Matsuri and Kurenai were standing exhausted before a just as exhausted Ofuyo and her four remaining henchwomen.

"What do we do, Ofuyo-sempai?" the youngest one asked "We outnumbered them and they managed to get rid of the most part of our troops."

"You're such a genius, Yuki! I hadn't noticed…" Ofuyo replied acidly

"Get away, Ofuyo-sempai! We will cover you retreat" the tallest of the bunch said

The dark-skinned ROOT senior nodded and tried to escape but Matsuri lashed one of her jouhyous at her leg and made her trip. In the meantime, Genma took on the tallest kunoichi and the blue-haired one while Kurenai was already dealing with the other two.

"Don't fuck with me, little girl! You're not skilled enough!" Ofuyo cursed "Step aside or you'll get hurt"

Matsuri was holding a set of kunais in her hands, ready to throw them at her opponent who still on the ground, her legs entangled. Matsuri didn't answer and threw the deadly salvo. Ofuyo slipped off but couldn't evade two of them lodging in her sides. Taking advantage of the momentum, she yanked the jouhyou's rope hard, succeeded in toppling the Suna kunoichi over and punched her in the head with all her might. Matsuri was nearly knocked out and had to kneel to come to her senses, giving Ofuyo the time to get away but Kurenai planted herself in front of her and grabbed her by the collar.

"**Beautiful Death Jutsu"**

As rose petals twirled around her, Ofuyo tried to dispel the illusion. The petals soon turned to shurikens tearing into her flesh and clothes. Ofuyo fell to the ground, tattered. Kurenai approached to check on her but the clone puffed up in smoke.

"Dammit! Where is she?" the red-eyed vixen uttered

"Right here, bitch!"

Kurenai only had time to feel the pain of the kunai thrust in her lower spine before falling unconscious.

"KURENAI!" Genma screamed as Ofuyo leapt off for good this time.

_Ebisu's room, back to present…_

Ebisu listened to Matsuri's story with a sorry look.

"Are there any chances for her to heal successfully?"

"Well we kind of hope so." Iruka answered "But everything is in the hands of Shizune and her medics right now. Not to mention Hinata-sama and Gai are not doing that good either…"

At that very moment, the door creaked open and in came Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon.

"Sensei, how are you doing?" Konohamaru asked with a cheeky smile

"Been better. But I'm happy to see you three doing well. By the way, weren't you supposed to be on a mission with Raidou?"

"Well, he's back there at the shelters and Genma-sempai has joined him to help. Civilians will stay there for the night." Moegi answered

"If you don't mind, we'll take our leave." Matsuri said "We told Shizune we'll be present for Hinata's final diagnostic and we'll also stay for Kurenai and Gai's results."

"Take care of yourselves" Ebisu said with a smile "And don't forfet to get some rest…"

Upon this, Iruka and Gaara's girlfriend left the room.

_Konoha's Hospital,__ Intensive Care Unit, a little past midnight…_

In the cold and silent corridor, Hiashi Hyuga was waiting for the results of the intervention. Hinata had been badly burnt and had escaped death by the skin of her teeth but the red light was still on. In front of him, Matsuri and a bandaged Iruka were sitting quietly. The atmosphere was cool yet so thick you could cut it with a knife. They were supposed to protect the First Lady at all costs… Thus one could easily imagine his frostbitten wrath when he arrived at the hospital earlier this evening.

The red beckon switched off. The door opened and everyone turned to the worn out Shizune, the same question in their eyes.

"She'll be fine…" Shizune said with a sweet smile "Just a few days of rest and there will be no sequels"

Iruka and Matsuri sighed in relief while Hiashi showed an extremely rare grateful smile.

"Thanks for your hard work, Shizune-san. It's very much appreciated."

"You're welcome, Lord Hiashi."

"And what of Kurenai, Ebisu and Gai?" Matsuri asked

"Kurenai and Gai are still under treatment. Ebisu-san has been healed and will be able to go away tomorrow." Shizune couldn't repress a yawn. She had been working non-stop for almost five hours. She preferred not to diagnose anything regarding the two other Jounins. The final results might be more unfortunate than expected, especially for Kurenai…

"When will we be able to see her?" Matsuri asked

"Tomorrow morning if she's able to. But she's strong, she will certainly wake up fitter than expected."

Hiashi nodded, thanked Shizune one more time and walked away sternly.

"Well, now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work. I have still work to do."

"How is Kurenai-san?" Iruka asked

Shizune didn't answer and lowered her gaze.

Both nins understood and simply let her go in the adjacent emergency room where Asuma's widow was being taken care of and sauntered to the waiting room.

"I guess there is nothing we can do other than wait now…" Iruka said "But for now, just get some sleep, Matsuri-san. I'll stay here to wake you up when the results are available."

"That's kind of you." Matsuri said as she laid on one of the benches "But don't forget to get some sleep as well, Iruka-san. You may need your forces tomorrow as well."

"I will…"

Iruka went onto the window and peered at the almost noiseless village while the wind swept through the empty streets. The atmosphere was oddly cool and calming.

'_Naruto… Come back soon. This place is void without you around.'_

_Shikamaru's hut, in the meantime…_

Temari was pressed hard on the hut's walls by an utterly raging Shikamaru who was unloading the stress and worry accumulated during this hectic day. He was holding her from behind, biting in her shoulder and twiddling with her hardened nipples. Temari was trying her best to muffle her moans of pleasure.

"Shikamaru… What's happening? You're so… wild!"

"Don't act… like it's the first time! I said that I was…hum.. in charge! Oh yeah!"

And he continued on ravaging her, turning her around and hoisting her on the rest board again, putting her legs on his shoulders so he could properly stave into her. The moist and rhythmic sound of their bodies slamming against one another was all what could be heard but it was becoming more and more difficult for both to muffle their moans and huffs. Feeling the urge of orgasm coming close, Temari ensnared her lover in her legs and forced him in a heated kiss which Shikamaru reciprocated. Holding each other tight, the spasms of their desire accelerated. Faster…Harder… In each other's mouth, a silent yell exploded. The tension dropped dead as both fell on the rough board , out of breath and streaming with sweat. The comfort they needed, they gave to one another as always. Shikamaru kissed her sweetly.

"Thank you…"

"Thank YOU" Temari replied with one of her foxy grins "I needed that too."

"You really are something else, you know… You're the most troublesome girl I know and I can't get enough of you."

"Same to you, crybaby." Temari said as she stood up "I usually don't like slackers but I guess my tastes have bitten me in the ass. Just like you did…"

"Please stay…" Shikamaru pleaded as he grabbed her wrist

"You know I can't…" The Sunan blonde answered regretfully

"Just stay a little while…" He stood up and embraced her again, giving in the warmth of her skin

"You know we can't go at it again, don't you?" Temari said as he took her upper ear in his lips

"I know… I want to cuddle with you while I still can…" the Smoking Genius said

"Fine. But not too long! I need to sleep too you know…"

"Share a cig with me?"

Temari turned to him, disconcerted. It was the first time he offered her to do this…

"Er…Yes…"

As the night's cool breeze dried the sweat away, both curled up against one another, forgetting the world for a few minutes, for as long as the cigarette's tip could glow…


End file.
